The Files of Martin Stein
by MaWa
Summary: A post EQ alternative fiction. Preston fails and the Librian dictatorship gets more restrictive. James Crow, a Tetragrammaton investigator has to find Martin Stein, a Tetragrammaton top scientist who disappeared in mysterious circumstances. COMPLETED!
1. Chapter I

_Author's note: the story is also being published by me ( under the nickname MaWa as well ) on the Resistance HQ boards in the EC-10 Sense Offences section._

**Chapter I**

The sound of a working computer was the only one that could be heard in Crow's office. The last investigation he conducted, coded _case 254/58_ finally found its end and James Crow was about to finish his report.

_Based on the gathered evidence, it is clear that the recent network crash was caused by Frank Revan, the computer technician in I Department. He hacked into the network and accessed the computer database. He also attempted an unauthorized access to Class A documents, but failed due to detection._

_Suggestions: _

_Complete the introduction of A, B and C level computer access cards as soon as possible. Current security measures are insufficient._

_Reinstall and upgrade the system!_

_James Crow, Tetragrammaton - II Department_

There was also one more thing that crossed Crow's mind. The blood test which had been run on Revan showed that the Prozium concentration in the suspect's blood was within norms. So he wasn't a sense offender. But it was he who hacked the system.

"There's something missing." Crow thought.

But for the superiors the mere fact of the hack was sufficient to send Revan for combustion. They'll say he was a sense offender, because only they are capable of treason.

"That would be too simple."

Suddenly, the telephone rang.

"James Crow, you are to proceed to the Vice-Council immediately."

"Understood."

The investigator left his office, heading to see the Vice-Council DuPont.

After a thorough search, James Crow stepped in to the office of the Vice-Council, who began to speak even before the doors closed.

"The case I have for you is of a very sensitive nature. I asked your superiors in the II Department to single out the most capable investigator they have. They chose you. And your records seem to confirm their choice."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now let's get down to business. Martin Stein, a leading V Department scientist, has disappeared."

"What do you mean... dissapeared, Vice-Council?"

"He didn't come to work. He also wasn't in his unit, neither did he leave a message indicationg his whereabouts"

"My task is to find him then?"

"Yes" DuPont nodded, "There is one thing you need to know. Stein is leading the research, which is absolutely vital and cannot be continued without him. Find him, dead or alive. I will not accept failure. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I authorize you to question everyone in the Tetragrammaton and Stein's family. I'll also send orders to all departments to give you all possible assistance. Find him. I give you ten days." As DuPont said it, his secretary started to type the authorization message.

"Understood."

"Dismissed."

Crow nodded, turned on his heel and left the Vice-Council's office.

Back in his office Crow accessed the Tetragrammaton Database. Father hadn't given him much time, he knew it. He typed _"Stein, Martin"_ into the database search engine and waited for the results. After a while it came up with the following:

_Name: Stein, Martin_

_Age: 60 _

_Date of birth: 03.III.1980_

_Marital status: married_

_Children: 2_

_Private address: Sector 10, 1st Street 12/4_

_Occupation: Department V - R&D, scientist ( First Class )_

_1998-2002 – studies chemistry, studies interrupted by the outbreak of III WW_

_2012: Starts working for the Tetragrammaton, under the I Councillary, in the V Department _

_2012-2013 – a lab assistant_

_2014-2024 – a Second Class scientist_

_2014-2015 – took part in researching Prozium I_

_2016-2018 – took part in researching Prozium II_

_2019-2022 – research on new weaponry_

_2023-2024 - research on emotion detector **PROJECT SUSPENDED**_

_2025 – a First Class scientist_

_**ALL DATA CLASSIFIED**_

_Opinion ( 1.VII 2019 ): A brilliant mind, hard-working. Specialized in chemistry, does his job very well. Tasks completed on time. Further prospects: A_

There was also Stein's photo, which Crow examined carefully. He saw a bald, round faced man wearing glasses. His look was sharp and scrutinizing.

"So, what do we have there?" Crow thought, while processing the information. "A promising chemist, now First Class scientist, working on both Prozium generations. Fifteen years of his career are classified, so some major researches are going on."

"People do not disappear." The investigator said aloud. "Coffee also doesn't make itself. Which reminds me..."

James Crow poured big amount of coffee in his espresso machine and turned it on. Coffee was the liquid which, besides Prozium, kept him alive.

The telephone rang again.

"Crow, do you have the report on case 254/58?" It was John Miller, Crow's direct superior.

"Yes, I've finished it."

"So bring me the report immediately. This case has already been dragging on way too long."

"It's closed. Definitely." Crow stressed the last word.

"Good. Now bring me the report." After these words Miller hung up.

Investigator Crow printed his report and took it, along with complete documentation. He went then to Miller's office.

John Miller, a blond in his mid forties looked at his subordinate as he laid the report on desk.

"I've already been informed by the Vice-Council about your new task" The superior started, "Therefore I'll give the case I planned for you to Watts."

Crow nodded.

"As for your report" Miller continued, browsing it. "It's interesting. Frank Revan – who would suspect? But what took you so long?"

"Ask the system administrator" Crow replied "The system is so unstable that it could be as well a random malfunction. Revan simply took an advantage of this – and he would have got away with it, if he succeeded. So it is luck and Revan's insufficient skills that made this case possible to close."

"You'll need this luck now. I appreciate your skills and I can wait bit longer, because I know you don't miss anything. But the Vice-Council won't wait. Got it?" Miller spoke slowly, stressing each word.

"Yes."

"Good. Find Stein. We can't miss anything. We can't let him get into Terrorists' hands. Preston's rebellion almost succeeded because we allowed him too much. It is Vice-Council DuPont's bullet that stopped the threat. Remember: if Clerics are the hand of justice, we are its brain."

"I'll bear this in mind" Crow answered.

"Good. You may leave" Miller said.

James Crow left his superior's office and started to make a detailed plan of his investigation.

Already in his office, Crow stared at the computer screen. The best thing he could do, he thought, was to question Stein's family and search his flat for further clues. The investigator picked up the phone and dialed the Police Forces' extension.

"Yes? Who is there?" The voice asked.

"James Crow here. I need two of your men right now." Crow said.

"I don't have two men. All are already assigned. Some are patrolling the city, others are patrolling the Nethers.. Four of them went on house searching." answered the voice.

"It's Stein's case, Paul, you should receive message from the Vice-Council. I need those men!" Crow's voice was getting tired.

"Hold on for a moment."

After a while the man called Paul said:

"Yes, I've got the orders. But the only thing I can do for you is to contact the searching teams and ask them, when they will come back. I'll do this and call you back as soon as someone will become available."

"All right. I'm waiting." Crow answered and hung up.

"Will this ever come to an end?" the investigator asked himself, "The police are patrolling the cities, doing random blood tests. Each member of the Tetragrammaton and other institutions has to take an obligatory blood test as well. The Monitoring Centre soon will be fully operational. And yet there are people who still resist. How long will it last?"

Unable to find the answer to these questions, Crow picked up the cup of already cold coffee and drank it. He knew he will need a lot of this awfully tasting Librian coffee to function for the next ten days.

The telephone rang after half an hour. It was Paul.

"James, consider yourself lucky," he said, "Sweepers Harris and Reynolds have just returned from the house searching and are to your disposal."

"Good."

"To be honest, I'm suprised that I've found someone at all. A lot of my people are being regularly deployed to the Nethers, capturing Sense Offenders."

"Capturing?" Crow asked, "Aren't they supposed to be shot on sight?"

"I also don't understand it. I'm just fulfilling my orders." Paul answered „ James, I need more men." he added.

"We all do."

"Harris and Reynolds will be waiting for you outside. Try to be short."

"I'll do what I can."

Paul hung up.

James sighed. House searching just _can't_ be short. At least not in _this_ case, where each slightest clue would be priceless. He thought he should someday explain some things regarding his job to Paul, but it would be probably futile.

The high-pitched tone of James' watch reminded him of taking a next dose of Prozium. He placed his dose in the PIU, injected it, waited few seconds and headed outside.


	2. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

On his way to Sector 10, one of the newest sectors in Libria, James was thinking about questions he should ask to gather the largest amount of information as possible. As for searching – James knew that all flats in this sector are the same. After all he lived there, in one of those grey, massive blocks. After doing his job in Stein's flat, he planned to go back home and analyze obtained pieces of information there. It would take him ten minutes by foot. The only thing he had to do was to inform Miller.

"Sir, we're there." Harris, who drove the car, announced.

"Good. We may proceed." – replied the investigator.

The searching team parked and headed towards Stein's flat. After a moment they knocked at the door. A thin, middle-aged and dark-haired woman opened and seeing Crow's uniform, stepped back.

"James Crow, Tetragrammaton. I need to ask a few question regarding your husband's disappearance. In the meantime you'll be blood-tested." – said Crow crisply.

Reynolds took out his Electronic Portable Prozium Tester (EPPT) – a small device used to detect presence of Prozium in blood of the examined person and performed a quick test.

"It's positive." he announced.

"Thank you, Reynolds," said the investigator, "Now, let's get down to the questions, shall we?"

"I'll tell you what I know, Mr Crow." said Stein's wife.

James nodded, took out his notebook and asked:

"What's your name?"

"Elena Stein."

James noted the name and asked:

"Your husband didn't appear at work today. We haven't received any message from him regarding his absence. Perhaps you know something about his disappearance?"

"No," said Elena looking at the young, red-haired man who was questioning her, "He left this morning as usual."

"So he didn't give you any clue?"

"No. He said that he's going to work and will stay until late."

"Haven't you noticed anything unusual?"

"Hm. Let me think." After a moment the woman, suddenly recalling something, said, "Yes."

James had his pencil and notebook at the ready.

"What was it?"

"At evenings he had always gone to the the cellar and stayed there until late."

"What is in the cellar?" Another question was asked.

"His private lab."

"Show it to us."

Elena nodded.

"Follow me," she said.

The investigator and the searching team followed Stein's wife who was leading them to the cellars.

As the search team reached Stein's cellar they saw a well-equipped lab. Numbers of test tubes, flasks, chemical agents, couple of burners, fridge and some other equipment.

"Harris, Reynolds," James instructed the sweepers, "Search for all documents and any other data you can find."

"Yes, sir."

The team started the search. Scouring the cabinets and wall cupboards for any available clue they came up mainly against chemical formulas, scientific books and chemical agents. Mainly...

"Sir!" Reynolds' voice was heard, "I found something!"

"Give it to me." Crow ordered.

Reynolds passed Crow a folder and a CD. It was the hand-written inscription on the folder that attracted sweeper's attention. It read: "The ultimate solution".

The investigator opened the folder and saw couple of chemical reactions with descriptions and a couple of long passages, without any related formulas. There was one problem though - the descriptions weren't written in English.

"This must be one of those numerous pre-war languages," thought James "Which are said to be extinct."

The paper wasn't yellowish yet, so it seemed that the notes were quite recent. They looked like a report from some kind of research. But not a single word was even remotely known to the investigator.

"If this was a standard report, why someone would want to code it?" This question struck James like a hammer.

"When someone wants to hide something." The answer came instantly.

But then another question came. James took a look at the CD cover and saw another incomprehensible description. He didn't see any computer though.

Elena Stein observed the searching team, especially the red-haired man in the Cleric-like grey uniform who was reading some documents – or at least tried to work out their meaning.

"Mrs. Stein – the man raised his head and looked at the woman standing by the door – Could you tell me what language is this?"

Elena approached the man and took a look at the notes, which were in the folder. After a while she said:

"It's German."

"Can you speak this language?"

"No," the woman answered

"Then we'll have to find someone who speaks it," said Crow, "But before we leave, we'll also search your husband's room."

Elena nodded and the whole four headed upstairs towards the scientist's room.

Stein's room didn't differ from Librian standard. A bed, a wardrobe, small desk, a chair and a single bookshelf – that were the entire furnishings.

Martin's desk was the first place where Crow started his search. Looking into every drawer he browsed Stein's notes. Majority of them concerned some of his former researches. Crow took those, which referred to Prozium.

As James finished searching Stein's desk, his eyes wandered towards the bookshelf. Among scientific books and articles there was one book, which every Librian had in his possession: "Father's Word".

Crow wondered whether Stein's scrutinizing approach applied to Father's teaching as well. In order to find the answer he reached out for the book, took it and started browsing it.

He found what he was instinctively looking for: notes. In fact those notes were also written in this strange, incomprehensible language, which was called German.

"I think we've found everything we wanted. Thank you for your help. Should the need arise, we will call you."

"I'll be to your disposal," answered Stein's wife.

The search team left the building and Crow started to consider his next step. He had a CD, bunch of notes and "Father's Word". He was sure about one thing: he had to get somehow these notes translated. He also planned to browse the CD at home, on his private laptop and read the Prozium research notes. A grain of suspicion was sown and more questions came along with the main one: if Stein headed for work as usual and never reached it – then where is his car?

"We're done for now. You can drive back to the headquarters while I'll analyze the data at home. It's not far, I can go by foot." said Crow

"Yes sir!" the sweepers answered.

As Harris and Reynolds drove away, James headed towards his home, which was located two blocks from Stein's flat.

Crow's flat wasn't big. One room, kitchen and a bathroom provided enough room for him. As a man without family he didn't need anything more.

The decor met the ascetic Librian standards. Bed, desk, a cabinet and a wardrobe. The only unusual thing was Crow's private laptop, which was standing on the desk, right by the telephone.

James put his findings aside on the desk, picked up the phone, dialed the II Department's number and Miller's extension.

"John Miller, II Department. Who is calling?"

"James Crow. I found some data which I'd like to analyze at home so I won't come back to work until tomorrow."

"Good," John answered, "In fact, you've made a wise choice."

"What do you mean?" James asked

"The Central Database is down."

Only the dose of Prozium, which James has taken, stopped him from swearing. Now he was cut off from the data, which might be vital for his investigation.

"What did exactly happen and when?"

"Two hours ago." answered Miller

"Right after my departure." thought James

"According to the technicians," Miller continued, "A virus was planted into the system. It corrupted the system files, great majority of Class C and some of the Class B data. The system has been scanned, but the virus couldn't be removed. They decided to format."

"And restore the database from backups?"

"Yes."

"It'll take two days at least." said James and suddenly something struck him, "Is Revan still at large? If he's arrested I must question him."

"I'm afraid it's not possible," Crow's superior answered "The security came for him short after the crash. They found him dead."

"Suicide?" asked Crow

"Possibly. The Medical Section is performing the post-mortem examinations. The result should be known in two or three hours."

"Right. Keep me informed," said the investigator.

"Will do" Miller answered and hung up.

Sabotage – that was James' first thought. He wondered whether it was a blind attack or was it somehow connected with his investigation. He didn't know and he badly needed as much evidence in Stein's case as possible.

He glanced at the stuff from Stein's flat and decided that he'll browse the CD first. He turned on the laptop and inserted the CD into CD-ROM.

As it turned out, the CD contained one single document, merely one page long. It was written entirely in German as well. But as Crow noticed, the document didn't contain a single chemical formula. In fact, it didn't look like a research report. It didn't look like a note at all.

"Why someone would use a CD-ROM for one single document? What's in it? And why it is written in that language?" Questions were appearing one after another.

Without any clue what to do next, the young investigator opened Stein's copy of "Father's Word", searching for notes. Soon he found a passage, where the biggest amount of German notes could be found:

"_The source of our power lies in logic. We had chosen not to rely on the Irrational, which almost lead to our end – but to embrace logic, which will tell us how to live. We won't have to be afraid of ourselves anymore. The harmony, which we now experience, shall not be gone. Sooner or later no-one will be willing to reject what our great society has achieved."_

James stopped for a moment, for some aspect of Stein's life made him think. This scientist belonged to those Librians, who remembered the pre-war era. Crow realized, that he was investigating a case of a man, who has gone through more things then he, who had never experienced life without Prozium. The man, who had great influence on the shape of Libria – almost as great as Father, is now gone. And all what Crow had were the notes written in German, probably Stein's native language.

James continued browsing the book, paying great attention to the concentration of notes. He could at least figure out, which fragments of the book attracted Stein's attention especially strongly.

Still browsing the pages, he eventually came to an end, where Stein has written only one sentence, which apparently served as a summary: _Gibt es Vorzüglichkeit - dann gibt es keinen Menschen ._

James knew what to do. He had to find an translator. He had to find a key to Stein's mind. But at this very moment he felt overwhelming exhaustion and headache. Putting away his personal gun, which he always carried with him in case of self-defense and deciding to find an translator tomorrow, he fell on his bed.


	3. Chapter III

_Author's note: Hunt character mentioned in the note was taken from Cleric Wolf's EQ fan-fiction "House of Cards". Thanks, Wolf!_

**Chapter III**

Next morning, back in the office, James continued analyzing his findings. This time he decided to take a closer look at Martin's research notes, which fortunately had been written in English, in a concise style. James started to work on one of the older notes, which read:

_Project name: Prozium I_

Evaluation: Extremely dangerous, aborting the experiments as soon as possible is required.

Experiment subject: J. Hunt

Observed effects: aggressive behavior, psychosis. Subject poses great danger.

Below were other notes, written so hastily that Crow had trouble reading them. However, he succeeded after few attempts and could read the following:

_There must be a way... Maybe they'll finally listen to my suggestions and will stop aiming at destroying emotions entirely. Prozium I was way too strong, therefore caused brain damage. Hunt was doomed._

Crow read this note several times, understanding now why Vice-Council wanted to find Stein so badly.  
The investigator read carefully the other notes, looking for further clues, hidden between chemical formulas and scientific terms. Finally he found another note:

_Project name: Prozium II_

Evaluation: Success. Can be implemented for common use. Note: the doses have to be adjusted individually.

Number of subjects: 1000

Observed effects: suppressing emotions to acceptable level. Note – five subjects, after ceasing their dose suffered from following symptoms:  
nausea, hallucinations, dizziness. Two cases of fever noted. All subjects recovered after few days. 

At the bottom of the page there was only one sentence written, which read:

_This might be the remedy..._

"Research, which is absolutely vital." murmured James, while staring at the notes.

Just after a moment, the telephone rang.  
"James Crow, II Department."  
"Crow, I've got some news for you." It was Miller  
"What news?" The young investigator starved for every bit of information.  
"I've got the result of post-mortem examinations of Revan. Guess what they found out."  
"Poison." James voiced his suspicion.  
"Exactly! It was cyanide, which Revan managed to take before the security got him."  
"So this trace seems to be a dead end for now," Crow concluded. "But I'll have to take another one. I need some help here."  
"Yes" Miller listened.  
"Do you know someone who speaks German?" James asked.  
"German? Oh dear, the language is extinct – as the thousands of other languages. Ninety percent of mankind was wiped out in the World War III – and the languages they had spoken were wiped out with them."  
"Well, not quite." James disagreed. "I've found in Stein's flat numerous notes belonging to him, written in this language. I think Stein wants to conceal something and for this purpose he uses a language, which only he can understand.  
After all, in contrast to us, he remembers the pre-war times.  
"So, you're looking for someone of German origin, who is old enough to remember the times before World War III. – Miller said – Well, I don't know such a person. At least not in my Department.  
"All right, I'll continue my search then." Crow answered  
"Don't lose the track, Crow. You know your main task." Miller answered and hung up.  
"Yes, I do." James muttered, "I do."

Wondering, where he might start his search, the investigator checked the database access, just for sure. As a result he saw only a blue screen, reading:

DATABASE MALFUNCTION. ACCESS NOT AVAILABLE.

Crow stared at the screen and sighed, excluding at the same time next Tetragrammaton branches from his field of interest. As he concluded, he could forget about the Clerics, The Police Force, The Security and his own department - The Investigations. Finally, there remained two: The Medical Section and R&D.

Hesitating for a moment, Crow decided eventually to dial R&D's extension, concluding that it would be more sensible to start his search from Stein's department.  
"Eric Simpson, V Department". A calm voice was heard.  
"James Crow speaking, from the II Department." James answered. "I'm investigating the disappearance of Martin Stein and want to talk to as many staff members as possible."  
"James Crow," the other man was thinking. "Yes, I remember. We received Vice-Council's orders and authorization message yesterday. We'll do our best to help you."  
"Good. I'll come to talk to you in ten minutes." James hung up.

The investigator was about to leave, when he suddenly realized, that he almost forgot to print that German document, stored on Martin's CD. He quickly printed it, grabbed, enclosed it to the rest of the notes, took the folder as well and left his office.

James went along the wide, but gray and unfriendly corridors of his department, passing and greeting his co-workers. Crow found Miller's words extremely accurate: the II Department was the brain of justice. Considering combat skills, the investigators were no match for the Grammaton Clerics – even the Second Class - since they undergone only the standard weapon training. But without II Department tracking down sense offenders would be much more difficult – if not impossible. As a result of progressive specialization, which began right after Preston's unsuccessful revolt, the job, done formerly by Clerics, fell on James Crow and the other investigators. The Tetragrammaton structure started to expand and the Clerics were reduced to the role of incredibly efficient killing machines that struck whenever they were given the target.

Once in the R&D Department, James saw for the first time the Tetragrammaton laboratory. Lots of people in white outfits could be seen as they were performing their research. Just after a while James noticed a staff member who didn't look busy and decided to question him.  
"James Crow, II Department" The investigator introduced himself and then went straight to the point. "What's your name?"  
"Henry Swift" Answered the questioned man  
"I'm investigating the disappearance of Martin Stein. "  
"Disappearance?" The staff member looked at the investigator, apparently clueless. "The only thing I know is that he was here day before yesterday."  
"That's true," Crow interrupted. "But the thing is, he hadn't left any notice or any information about his current whereabouts. He hasn't been at his unit as well."  
Henry Swift only shook his head.  
"Who in this department knows Martin and could give me the information needed?" James decided that the questioned man knew indeed nothing.  
After a moment of thinking, Swift answered:  
"Ask Michael Dorn, the tall, thin, white-haired man who stands next to the computers. He worked together with Martin."  
"Thank you." James answered and looked in the mentioned direction. After a while he spotted a man, who matched the description and headed towards him.  
"James Crow, II Department. Are you Michael Dorn?"  
"Yes" The scientist nodded. "How can I help you?"  
"I'm investigating the disappearance of Martin Stein," answered the investigator. "And I need all the information you can provide me with." He added.  
"Such as?"  
James prepared his notebook and asked:  
"For how long have you been working together?"  
"For ten years" Michael answered.  
The answer was noted.  
"As far as I know Martin is a skilled chemist specialized in Prozium." James continued.  
"A brilliant one," the scientist agreed. "And yes, Prozium was his main object of research."  
"Did he give you any hint about not coming to work?"  
"No" Dorn said. "Day before yesterday he told me that he'll bring me next day results of certain experiments I asked him about."  
"Can you speak German?"  
Michael remained silent for the moment and, after a while of thinking, he answered:  
"I'm of a German origin, but, to be honest, I hadn't been that much in contact with the language."  
"Can you translate?" Crow insisted.  
"Translate what?"  
"This." James handed Michael his findings and added, "If you open the book, you'll see Martin's notes. I have to get them translated as soon as possible. The same goes with this document and the folder."  
The scientist flicked through "Father's Word" and saw the mentioned notes. He also took a look at the printed document and at the folder. After reading few of the notes, he eventually said:  
"I think I might give it a try. But I'll need two days."  
James, after a moment of hesitation, answered:   
"All right, I'll come for them day after tomorrow."  
Michael nodded.  
"Damn" The investigator thought. "I'm stuck for two days."  
Crow was about to head towards exit, but suddenly another question appeared in his head. He decided to voice it:  
"Had Martin ever had any doubts about what he is doing?"  
"Doubts?" The scientist asked with a shadow of confusion apparently showing through the wearing off Prozium. "There's no room for them, is it?" Michael looked at the investigator cautiously.  
"No" Crow answered. "There isn't."  
In this moment Dorn's watch started to beep, reminding him about taking his next dose. As investigator Crow left the laboratory, Michael opened the book.  
"There is no room for doubts. Or is it?" A new thought like an uninvited guest appeared in Michael's mind.


	4. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

After leaving the Tetragrammaton laboratory Crow sighed. As he figured, he could only hope to get his findings at least partially translated and try to figure out, whom else might he question. Without the resources from the Central Database he could only rely on this type of information. Being absolutely sure that it was Revan who stood behind the database failure he had to admit that the attack was perfectly timed. As a firm non-believer in coincidence, he presumed – and this presumption was growing stronger every minute – that the second hack had to do with his investigation. Feeling a need to confirm his suspicions and to find out what exactly happened, Crow decided to question the computer technicians, who were attempting now to restore the database.

Suddenly, while thinking about his further course of action, he was stopped by three Security Officers.

"Investigator James Crow?" One of them asked.

"Yes," was the answer.

"We're running a random blood test. Please give me your hand, Sir!"

Crow stretched his left hand towards the Security Officer, who took out an EPPT. Within a brief moment the officer took a sample of the investigator's blood. Two seconds later the results were ready.

"Thank you, Sir, it's positive. Let's go!" said the officer to his companions.

"Wait a moment!" Crow said, before the three officers left. "I have a few questions to you, Officer…"

"Jones, Sir."

"Were you present at the moment of finding Frank Revan?" Crow asked while getting his notebook ready.

"No, I wasn't there," was Jones' answer.

"But I was," the other officer said.

The investigator looked at him with his notebook ready and asked:

"What's your name, Officer?"

"Patrick Smith."

"So you came to arrest Frank Revan and found him dead, right?"

"Yes, along with other three officers."

James noted meticulously.

"Where did you find him?"

"In the Tech Section."

"Did he tamper with the computers?"

"I'm not sure, Investigator. But the fact is, that one of the computers was switched on."

"Did you find something after searching him?"

The Officer thought for a moment and then answered:

"Yes, we did."

"What was it?"

"It was a floppy disk. I have delivered it to the Evidentiary yesterday, about 1:00 PM."

"Thank you, Officer. It's all I wanted to know."

As the security staff left, the investigator decided to head straight to the Evidentiary and, after obtaining the needed piece of evidence, question the computer technicians.

The Evidentiary Storage Officer, who was having his duty hours, stood up as soon as he saw the investigator.

"Investigator James Crow speaking. Is there any piece of evidence brought yesterday early afternoon by Security Officer Patrick Smith?"

The Officer started to check his logs and, after a moment, answered:

"Yes, sir, there is such an entry."

"What item is it?"

"It's a floppy disk," the officer stated.

"This is the thing I'm looking for. Get it for me." Crow ordered.

"Yes Sir!" The Officer replied and headed towards the archives.

In the meantime James heard someone calling him:

"Crow!"

James looked back and then turned around as he saw another investigator. It was Investigator Watts.

"You're investigating Stein's case, right?" Watts started, in a fairly quiet voice.

"Correct" James sighed, "It seems that at least two Departments know about that. But," he changed the subject, "what was the other case, which Miller planned for me, but eventually handed it over to you?"

"Ah, this one" Watts recalled, "It appears that the Terrorists have an infiltrator within our ranks."

"Great, that will be two now." Crow immediately thought about Revan.

"How do you know?" This time he asked aloud.

"One of the Sweepers was found dead yesterday." The other investigator started.

"Any motives?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"The victim was found without his overcoat, helmet, boots and gloves."

"Interesting" Crow immediately took a mental note.

"Have you found something about Stein?" Now it was Watts who was asking.

"Hm," James thought for a while, "I have few pieces of a puzzle, but I can't assemble anything yet."

In the same moment the Evidentiary Storage Officer brought the floppy disk and placed it on desk.

"Thank you, Officer." Crow said while taking the disk, "Watts, I'll catch you later."

After these words he headed towards the Tech Section, in order to, as he named it, get the next piece of the puzzle. He wondered, whether Watts will figure that actually James didn't tell him the whole truth. A theory, although still vague, started to form in the investigator's mind and he preferred to keep it for himself.

The Tech Section was placed next to the R&D Department, so James could get there right away. As he reached the section, he saw a group of computer technicians, who were working on bringing the Central Database back online.

All of the seven servers, where the database had been stored, had to have their hard drives formatted. In fact, the process was somewhere half through. In the meantime, three other technicians brought about thirty external drives, on which the backup data had been stored.

"Investigator James Crow," the investigator started, "I have a few questions regarding the database malfunction. I need only one of you."

One of the technicians put away the external drives and faced Crow, who asked him the first question:

"What's your name?"

"Mark Anderson."

The answer was noted and the next question came:

"What did exactly happen that brought the database offline?"

"A virus was planted into a system. It seems that it was specifically designed to damage the database content."

"Why hadn't it been picked up by the anti-virus scanners?"

"It is a new virus, written quite recently."

"But the scanners at least should had qualify this file as suspicious." Crow opposed.

"They should," Anderson agreed, "But they hadn't. Whoever had written this thing, he really knew what he was doing."

"It seems that this whoever was Frank Revan," the investigator pointed, "he was found dead few hours ago in this very room. And he carried this." He showed him the floppy disk.

The technician looked at the disk and asked:

"May I copy it? We will have to research this virus more thoroughly."

"Yes, but if you want to do it, do it now. I must return the disk to the Evidentiary."

It didn't take Anderson long to copy the disk's content. Right after he finished, he returned the piece of evidence to Crow.

"It's a single, executable file," the technician explained, "Revan, if this was his job, must had accessed the database, plant the virus there and launch it right there as well. This guy was very capable; in fact, he was one of the better guys here in the Tech Section. What a mess, we won't be able to clean it up at least until tomorrow. The e-mail will be also out of business until we bring the central servers back online."

"How does it look with the medical computers?"

"The second group is taking care of the situation now. No worries, all medical records are fully backed up."

"And the rest of the Database?" Crow asked.

"The thing is, it isn't," Anderson said.

"What do you mean it isn't fully backed up?" the investigator asked, thinking that in his job being on Prozium is indeed a good idea.

"The A, B and C Class documents are backed up in hundred percent, Anderson explained, "But backing up of the first pieces of data from the Monitoring Centre was scheduled for tomorrow. Now, we have absolutely nothing to back up."

"Did Revan know about that?"

Anderson nodded.

"What was the status of the Monitoring Centre before the hack?"

"All Libria gates were monitored, but nothing more. The rest of the system should become fully operational in about six weeks."

"All right. Thank you, Anderson." Investigator Crow closed his notebook and headed back to his office. His theory started to take a more distinct shape and he wanted now to sketch the scheme on paper.

Getting a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, he indeed started to make notes:

_07.05.2040 – disappearance of Martin Stein_

_07.05.2040 – house searching ( various German notes found ), found Stein's private lab. A CD found, but no computer or laptop. Car missing. Stein doesn't give any hint about his disappearance._

_07.05.2035 – Central Database failure. The cause: virus planted by F. Revan. _

_F. Revan, a computer technician, found dead with a piece of hard evidence ( an infected floppy disk ). Cause of death: poison. Further comments: He must have known that his previous hack was detected. Apparently, he didn't care about any precautions._

_But where the hell did he get cyanide?_

_08.05.2040 - Database backup: all data from the Monitoring Centre irreversibly lost. Revan knows the data hasn't been backed up yet._

_08.05.2040 – Watts told me that a sweeper had been found dead one day earlier, without his helmet, boots, gloves and overcoat. That could be a perfect disguise… Must ask Watts for further info._

_10.05.2040 – Expecting to get the notes at least partially translated, being particularly interested in Stein's comments found in the book. Why does he use German? To hide his doubts? And what is this "vital research"? Something related to Prozium I assume._

James looked at his notes once again to see whether it makes any sense and felt, that something vital was still eluding him. He needed evidence. The Vice-Council needed evidence.


	5. Chapter V

**Chapter V**

"_There is no enemy nearly as vicious and dangerous as human emotions. It was the hardest one to fight, for emotions were an incurable disease, inherent to every human being. But not anymore! There is a cure for this disease – a triumph of human intellect upon human drives – Prozium; our salvation, our key to perfection."_

"And our invention." Michael Dorn thought, while reading Stein's copy of "Father's Word".

The old scientist was trying to translate his colleague's notes, but he had a hard time, since he hasn't been using German for years. But that investigator, whose name Dorn tried to recall, urged him to translate them. In what way would it be helpful, Michael didn't know. But order is an order, Dorn thought, and he proceeded with the book.

"_The foundation of our state is more solid than rock. It is the pure Reason, without the irrational part of our natures – an equation without the unknowns. It's our stronghold against wars. Peace will last and the war will become a term, which meaning will fade from our understanding."_

Dorn rewrote the fragment and the corresponding comments on a separate sheet of paper. He translated those comments he could understand and put a question mark by those he couldn't understand at all. He didn't intend to translate every single comment, since he figured that a part of them will suffice.

"There is still so much to do," the scientist thought, looking on Stein's folder, lying nearby. "Damn, I'm a scientist, not a translator!"

As Michael Dorn was making progress, he started to understand the strange question he was asked. And he didn't like the answer which started to form in his mind.

It took few more hours before Dorn was eventually done with the book.

The document was another challenge. Written in a difficult way, it was mainly beyond Dorn's German skills. He found only five sentences, which he was more or less able to translate. Finding this one too difficult to tackle, he decided to move on to the last thing – the folder.

It contained a lot of content as well. Dorn wasn't sure what Stein exactly meant by writing "The ultimate solution" on the cover, but he wanted to find out.

The content turned out to be more familiar to Dorn – mainly due to large amount of chemical formulas. Although he couldn't understand the majority of the German comments, he could understand the chemical reactions, since they were related to the research, which he was conducting together with Stein.  
As he studied the notes suddenly something struck him. Dorn realized that something was wrong there – definitely wrong. He studied the formulas once again, very carefully. The results were beyond doubt. Michael had worked with Stein too long to be mistaken.

"Martin," he whispered. "That's not possible."

But Stein's notes pointed otherwise.

Michael Dorn had his orders and he knew what to do. He picked up a phone and dialed a number, in order to request the meeting with the Vice-Council.

* * *

At the same time, Crow was making a call to Watts, in order to acquire some more details on his investigation. He couldn't explain why, but he somehow sensed that there could be a connection. Not entirely sure whether he was right, he waited until Watts picked up the phone.

"James Crow speaking. Watts, I need some… additional details on your investigation. Two things, to be more specific."

"Hm", Watts thought for a while, "Crow, I don't think I can tell you everything. Why are you so interested in my case?"

"Let's say that there might be a possible link between our cases. I can't say for sure before you provide me with some information." Crow stressed the word _some_.

"All right. What do you want to know?"

"The Sweeper's identity and his exact time of death."

"We're working on this one. The body was burned thus identification is impossible without the DNA sample. There was no trace of his ID as well. We got the DNA sample, but before the identification process had the chance to begin, the whole Database went down, including medical servers, where the genetic profiles are stored."

"And I thought it couldn't get any worse. Oh sweet naivety," James thought.

"I'll get back to you as soon as the identification process is complete, by phone or by e-mail." Watts assured and hung up.

"This damn computer network." James thought. On one of his early cases he learned the hard way that he should store all of the relevant data on CDs. He also learned not to rely entirely on any computer database.

He looked again at the telephone. Following unclear calls of his instinct, he dialed up the Police Forces' extension.

"Paul Smith here, who's speaking?"

"James Crow speaking. Paul, I need the names of the Sweepers that were sent to the Nethers on Monday between 6 and 9 AM. Detailed lineup of every single patrol, including the time of deployment."

"Monday, you say? Well, that was a busy day, as you know. It'll take a couple of hours."

"All right. Send it to me on my e-mail. You remember my e-mail address, right?"

"Sure I do."

"Send me the lists as soon as you can." Crow said and hung up.

Possibly, it was a next piece of puzzle. But the dead Sweeper could be as well not related to the case. James couldn't be sure until the identification is complete.

Now all he had to do was to wait.

* * *

_09.05.2040 – I asked Watts about the Sweeper's identity, but I haven't acquired any information yet, since the medical computers went offline as well._

_10.05.2040 – Finally the Database is up & running. Today I should get the notes translated. I'm still waiting for the info from Watts and from Smith. I must have something to back up my theory. Vice-Council won't accept bare words. _

James Crow looked at his cup of coffee. Yesterday was the worst day in this investigation. Due to the fact, that the Database wasn't working and that Michael Dorn wasn't ready with the translations it was rather fruitless. It was the third day, so Crow still had the entire week. However, he knew he'll need some time to search for Stein.

_Martin Stein is outside Libria. Dead or alive – I don't know yet._

Crow stared blankly at the computer screen and he spotted a notice in the right bottom corner of it:

2 INCOMING MESSAGES

"Yes, that should be it," he thought and checked his e-mail. Indeed, these were the messages he was waiting for. He checked the one from Watts first.

"_James, the identification is confirmed. The victim was identified as Richard Simons. Estimated time of death – between 5 and 6 AM, on Monday. If you find the link, e-mail me. I can't figure out the motive."_

_Harry Watts, II Department_

The message from Paul contained the list of deployed Sweepers, sorted by an hour. James had to admit there were plenty of names, but only one of them interested him.

James activated the search feature and typed the victim's name.

_Richard Simons, 1 result_

"Getting there," he thought as he was browsing the details. He noted down the details that interested him"

_Richard Simons, deployed 7:45 AM, East Gate, Sector 5C_

As soon as he took the necessary notes, he started to write e-mail to Watts. After he sent it, he wanted to finish his coffee, but a sudden telephone prevented this.

"James Crow, II Department," the investigator answered mechanically "Who is speaking?"

"It's Michael Dorn, V Department," was the answer, "I am ready with the translations, but I wasn't able to understand all of the content."

"Go ahead" Crow listened carefully.

"I translated some of the comments from the book. I also worked on the contents of the folder, but I cannot speak about them, since these pieces of information are classified."

"And the printed document?"

"Incomprehensible," Dorn answered, "There were only five sentences which I was able to understand."

"I'll come for those documents in a few minutes" Crow said.

"All right," Dorn agreed. "I'll give you all documents but the folder."

"Why?" The investigator became alerted.

"It contains information, which is supposed to be known only to Stein, me and the Vice-Council." the scientist explained. " These are direct orders"

"All right. Order is an order," Crow agreed, " And I'll have to do without the folder," he concluded and hung up.

Secrets. Crow encountered many of them, but this one seemed especially shady and, in a way, tedious. Suspecting, that it is something extremely relevant to this research, mentioned by the Vice-Council, he wasn't able, even approximately, to assess, what did those formulas mean. The description on Stein's folder was the only clue.

"The ultimate solution," he thought, while heading for the V Department, "Well, add to it Stein's specialization – Prozium. The result could be… No, that's impossible! Prozium II is fully implemented, it works fine when properly dosed. Why improve… Improve? In which direction?"

First Crow rejected this thought as completely impossible. But just few seconds later he actually found several arguments backing it up.

The first one was Stein's specialization. Besides, the Vice-Council stated, the research could not be continued without him, which, combined with his career path, strengthened the investigator in his theory about the research.

"Here are the translated findings," Dorn said as the investigator approached him, "This is all I could do. I hope it'll be enough for you".

Crow took the papers, read them carefully and saw what follows:

"_Peace will last and the war will become a term, which meaning will fade from our understanding"_

"**_If there is peace, why do the furnaces still burn?" – _**was Stein's comment.

"_It was the hardest on to fight, for emotions were an incurable disease, inherent to every human being. But not anymore! There is a cure for this disease – a triumph of human intellect upon human drives – Prozium; our salvation, our key to perfection"_

"_**Now refined to its final stage."**_

"_There is no enemy nearly as vicious and dangerous as human emotions."_

"_**There is no enemy nearly as vicious and dangerous as ideology."**_

"_We won't have to be afraid of ourselves anymore."_

"_**So that's what it's all about!"**_

"_Sooner or later no-one will be willing to reject what our great society has achieved"_

"_**Soon no-one will be able to do it."**_

"Are you sure you got the meaning right?" Crow didn't even look at Dorn as he was asking the question.

"Sir, I only translated those sentences I was absolutely sure about."

Crow nodded and continued to read carefully and eventually came to the final sentence, which read:

_Gibt es Vorzüglichkeit - dann gibt es keinen Menschen._

The translation followed:

_**Is there perfection – then there's no human.**_

_**

* * *

**_

The Vice-Council DuPont was about to finish reading his messages, when Michael Dorn appeared with a folder. He looked at the scientist cautiously and started:

"You requested a meeting with me, Mr. Dorn."

"Yes" the scientist confirmed.

"What is the reason of your request?" DuPont gazed at Dorn with strange intensity.

"It involves the research" Dorn replied.

"Go on" DuPont nodded.

"Two days ago, Investigator James Crow came to me with several notes belonging to Martin Stein, which were written in German and with his copy of "Father's Word." Dorn started, "Since Crow doesn't know this language, he asked me to translate. The things I found out are the reasons of my request."

"Could you be more specific?"

"I found in his notes something that puts the research in jeopardy, I worked with him long enough to be sure that it is neither a mistake nor coincidence."

"In what way?"

"This could reverse the results of the experiment."

"What?" in DuPont's seemingly calm tone Dorn a menacing note could be heard, "Give me the folder."

The scientist placed the folder on desk. The Vice-Council started to browse them and, after a moment, he said:

"I didn't know you speak German that good."

"Sir, I don't understand the comments, but I understand the formulas," Dorn disagreed, "Martin Stein is working against us now."

Vice-Council's eyes narrowed as he heard that.

"It seems that I'll have to speak with Investigator Crow," he said eventually "You may leave now."

As Michael Dorn left, DuPont thought: "I'll have to do something with this."

While heading back to the lab Dorn realized something. Even those most important to the system may betray. If this continues to happen, Libria will fall and in order to prevent is, Dorn had to complete the experiment. He told himself that he, unlike Stein, will remain faithful to the system. Michael didn't know what were the reasons behind his colleague's treason. And he realized that he doesn't want to know.


	6. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI**

Looking at Dorn's translations and a pile of documents printed out from the Database's resources, James Crow could at least say now, that he solved a part of the puzzle. Martin Stein betrayed and escaped from Libria. Hadn't he done that, he would be found very quickly – anonymous reports remained one of the most effective ways of capturing offenders.

_11.05.2040 – It's not just Stein I am looking for. It's the classified knowledge the Vice-Council is about. Knowledge that – if not us – would serve the Resistance. Knowledge which must be extremely sensitive, if it lead the creator of Prozium to treason._

The phone rang, interrupting Crow.

"Investigator Crow, you are to report to the Vice-Council on the double," was the order.

"Yes Sir" Crow answered, knowing that sooner or later the Vice-Council will request him to report on his investigation. He took the translations and headed out.

"Investigator Crow," the Vice-Council started, as James entered the office, "You know why did I call you, don't you?"

"Yes"

"So," DuPont looked at the investigator curiously, "what have you found so far?"

"Martin Stein is not on our side anymore. Besides, the gathered information allows me to assume, that he is now somewhere in the Nethers. More, the Tetragrammaton was being infiltrated."

DuPont raised his eyebrows.

"Continue," he said.

"As for the treason," James started " it became clear to me, when I read some of Stein's notes. One of the scientists, Michael Dorn, translated them for me."

Crow handed the notes to the Vice-Council.

As DuPont read them, he felt anger – at Martin and at himself, for letting Stein out of control. Still maintaining a perfectly calm face, he asked Crow:

"What about your other conclusions?"

"About Stein's whereabouts." The investigator continued "Well, Stein possesses some sensitive information. If he…" Crow hesitated " ceased his support for Libria – and these notes prove it in an explicit way – he would probably like to hand this data over to the terrorists. I'm absolutely sure he is in the Nethers, in the Eastern sectors."

"Yes, quite logical," DuPont agreed, "But I assume you have more to say, don't you, Investigator?"

"I have a theory, Sir" Crow answered.

"Go on." DuPont nodded.

"The escape was prepared. I have reasons to assume that Martin Stein managed to escape disguised as a Sweeper with one of the earliest patrols."

"Interesting. What proof do you have?" DuPont said.

"Here it is," Crow handed the Vice-Council the e-mails he received. DuPont looked at them for a while and said to his secretary:

"Contact me with the II Department, with Investigator Watts."

"Right away, Sir"

The Vice-Council picked up the phone and talked for a while. Apparently, he reached Watts and asked him about the details of his investigation. After about two minutes he finished the conversation and looked curiously at the investigator.

"How do you think he could slip into a police van, completely unnoticed, using an ID of a Sweeper killed just hours earlier and getting the armament from the storeroom?"

"Well, the death occurred between 5 and 6 AM. Simons should be heading for work, so he already wore his uniform. He could be killed on the way. Sweeper uniform is a perfect disguise. Stein's face could be easily concealed by the crash helmet. Besides, no slightest trace of victim's ID was found, so I'm sure Stein used it. Still, he couldn't prepare the escape alone."

"What do you mean?"

"We have some terrorist undercovers within the Tetragrammaton."

"Proof, Crow. Proof." DuPont slightly knocked the desk with his fingers.

"Someone knew the patrol schedule. Someone knew where the Sweeper lives and where he was heading to work. Someone knew _which _Sweeper to pick as a target. After all, the uniform size had to fit Stein."

"Quite logical." DuPont had to admit. "Still, you suggest that there are more than one undercover."

"Maybe. The one I have on my mind is was Frank Revan, a computer technician. He killed himself by swallowing some cyanide."

"Cyanide is restricted," the Vice-Council pointed.

"Exactly" Crow agreed "The only place where he could get it from, are the labs. I guess Stein somehow smuggled the dose".

"Interesting. Very interesting." The Vice-Council said. "And plausible," he added after a while. "There is only one way we can find out, whether your theory is accurate. Our best Clerics will assist you in your search."

Two First Class Clerics were summoned. James Crow, ordered to wait until their arrival wondered, what factor caused Stein to become a sense offender. He figured Martin was a man of logic – "_A perfect human being, free from the flaws of emotions," _according to Father's teachings. But if logic and emotions were deemed contradictory, then why the analysis of "Father's Word" didn't prevent Stein from treason?

The answer eluded him.

In the meantime the Two Clerics came.

"Cleric Andrew Ross and Cleric Gabriel Stein," DuPont started "You are assist James Crow in a search for Martin Stein, who defected to the terrorists with some extremely sensitive information. It is critical that you find him."

"Yes Sir," both Clerics answered.

"Sir," Crow asked, pointing with his head in the direction of Cleric Stein "Is it _this _Stein?"

"Yes," the Vice-Council answered "Why do you ask, Investigator?"

"I don't think it's a good idea…"

"Investigator," DuPont interrupted icily "He's one of the very best and he will take part in this search. Are you questioning my orders?"

"No, Sir." Crow answered.

"Let it stay that way. You may leave, Investigator."

James turned around on his heel and, when he was about to leave the office, Cleric Stein said:

"Never question my loyalty, Investigator. Traitor is a traitor, no matter the surname he bears."

"I won't," he answered and left, with a dampened, but still present feeling of uneasiness.

"Clerics," DuPont said, when the doors were closed, "Keep an eye on Crow. Don't let him, under any circumstances, question Stein. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," both Clerics answered.

The expedition was almost ready. As the Sweepers were taking their places in the police vans, a Sweeper Commander approached Crow:

"Investigator, our most recent reports indicate the terrorists' activity in Sector 5E."

"Good. We'll start from there, Commander."

"Yes, Sir."

Crow and the two Clerics got in the police van as well and, after a moment, the whole expedition pulled out.

Sector 5E, one of the least devastated places in the Nethers, was apparently a former residential district. Lines of houses, more or less damaged, looked still fairly good, compared to the Nethers' standards. Located pretty far from Libria, the sector bore code E, meaning that it was the last area within the Nethers, which was in patrols' range. Letter F meant wastelands, where no buildings were present – just burned, mostly barren soil, where only the most resilient life forms could survive.

"They are moving back," Cleric Gabriel Stein started. "Soon they will have no place to hide and we'll get them all, eventually."

"How do you know there won't be new sense offenders to pursue?" James Crow asked.

"There won't be anyone left to misguide them," the Cleric replied in a monotone voice.

"If yes, it won't happen fast," Crow thought. "But," suddenly a new thought appeared in his mind "let's assume the Cleric is right and there is no-one left to oppose. What will be the purpose of the Tetragrammaton – sweepers, clerics, investigators. If there will be no offence to trace - will that be human thoughts, that we will have to trace? There are invisible, thus impossible to track down. A visible enemy is needed."

"Who could misguide Martin Stein, the creator of Prozium?" the Investigator asked.

"I don't know," Cleric Stein asked. "But does it matter? You are asking too many questions, Investigator."

"That's my job, Cleric," Crow rebutted.

"Your job is to seek for every sign of treason, Investigator. Our job is to destroy it."

Crow decided that further discussion would be too risky. The young Stein was well taught. Maybe even too well.

Eventually, the patrol stopped. It didn't take long before everyone got out, including the Clerics.

"This is the area, mentioned in the reports," the Sweeper Commander informed, "We don't know whether they changed their location."

"Let's proceed," Crow replied and the team began the search.

"Stay out of the first line, Investigator. You're not trained in the offensive procedures," Cleric Stein said, without looking at Crow.

"I'm not trained in killing everyone in sight, indeed," Crow thought, checking his pistol.

The search began and house by house was scoured for any human presence. Crow and the Clerics conducted the search from the bottom to the top – in vain.

"Nothing there," Cleric Ross stated.

Something felt different. This wasn't Crow's first search in the Nethers – but it was a first time he came up against a place that seemed completely deserted. No trace of human, no trace of EC-10 – just empty buildings, part of them partially ruined, were to be found. Only the sounds made by the search team disturbed the dead silence. James scanned the surroundings once again, to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"This place is dead. Let's move on. We've got still a lot to do. Keep your eyes peeled," he ordered.

* * *

"Jack, they're getting closer," a man, who, even for an untrained eye, looked like a sense offender, said to his companion. "If they'll keep going in this direction, they are going to have our ass."

"Damn," the other sentry sworn. "Adam, I told Jackson that after the last incident we should move out of this sector, not just one hundred meters away!"

"Where?" Adam asked "Given the fact that it is the last habitable sector in the Nethers and the other ones are crawling with the police, we don't have much choice, do we? This is the only place where we can risk hiding."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack muttered. "Let's see what have we got here. Hm. Two Sweeper teams, two Clerics First Class and a strange guy in a gray uniform. He doesn't look like a Cleric to me."

"Let me take a look," Adam took Jack's binoculars. After a while he stated "Fuck, now we're toast. This guy in gray is an Investigator. Unlike Clerics, Investigators are possible to be killed, but in searching skills they exceed Clerics. They're after that old man, no doubt about it. Wait!" The sentry continued to look through the binoculars. "They probably are about to turn left. We might be lucky this time! Yes, they are getting in the vans!" Adam's voice was getting excited.

"Hey, let me see it! That would be too good to be true!" Jack looked through the binoculars for a longer while.

"What?" His companion was getting impatient.

"I'm gonna kill this red bastard as soon as I get my hands on him! It seems like he's trying to stop them. Yes, they're getting out again! And they are heading in OUR direction! We're in deep shit. Better move out and inform the others on the double!"

Adam didn't have to hear the order twice. Now being genuinely nervous, he took a last look back and ran towards the Resistance hideout, located just three blocks from the makeshift sentry post.

"We've got a search team heading our way," he reported, as he bursted into the hideout.

"How large is it?" A man in his mid forties, apparently in charge of the group, asked.

"Two Sweeper teams, two Grammaton Clerics First Class, and one Investigator."

"Investigator, you say. That means they are after our guest. Besides, two Sweeper teams and two First Class Clerics mean trouble."

"We can't defend ourselves here." Adam stated. "Not with two Grammaton Clerics being hot on our heels."

"Agreed. But I've got a better idea…"

"Like what? Surrendering? Then we are toast, Jackson. Literally."

"You don't understand," the man smiled nastily, "You forgot about the B Compound".

A spark of understanding appeared in Adam's eyes and even a more nasty smile appeared on his face.

"The passage?" he asked.

"Yes. There are quite a few surprises awaiting for uninvited guests. Gather everyone and order them to move to the B Compound. And make sure the Clerics and the Investigator will take that passage."

"Oh, yes" Adam answered and ran to carry out the plan.

* * *

"Now, this looks like a good place to hide." Cleric Ross stated, after spotting an unusually big detached house, located almost at the end of the sector. "It's almost intact and large enough to stock stockpiles of EC-10 in. Yes, we should check this one."

Crow agreed with Ross' assessment.

"All right, let's move in," he ordered. "Four Sweepers are coming with us".

Four volunteers along with the Clerics and Crow entered the house, while the rest of the Sweepers surrounded it and got their weapons ready to shoot every sense offender that would dare to come out.

"Hm. EC-10 material." Cleric Stein stated as he saw pictures hanging on the walls along with some drawings, probably made by the sense offenders themselves. "They must be here somewhere."

The search team looked into every room, finding no-one. Upstairs, aside from more EC-10 material, such as books and paintings, they found nobody as well.

"Anybody got a flamethrower?" Cleric Stein asked.

"Our primary objective is to find Martin Stein, Cleric." Crow answered.

Stein looked at Crow. A bugging feeling of impatience which, though always dampened by Prozium, never fully abandoned him, now started to surface, which was an imminent sign that the dose started to wear off. He couldn't wait for the day to come when the last sense offender will be killed, the last piece of EC-10 will be burned – and he, Gabriel Stein, will be the one, who pulls the trigger.

Gabriel's watch beeped, reminding him to take the next dose of Prozium. His hand wandered to the pocket of his coat, searching for the PIU. Stein grabbed it firmly, as if it wanted to run away and, after injecting the next dose, he felt that nothing distracted him this time. Reaching again a Cleric state of mind, he stated:

"There's still the cellar left. Let's move."

The team moved back to the hall, where the entrance to the cellar was located. As one of the sweepers opened the door, he had to light his flashlight in order to see something. A dark corridor lead downstairs. Carefully, the team descended downstairs.

"They must have hidden here somewhere," the Sweeper, who entered as first, said. "Look what I've found."

Crow looked at the item. It was a fairly worn book. The Investigator had some, difficulties to make out the letters on the cover.

"Ray Bradbury. _Fahrenheit 451,_" he read. „We're going to burn it later, along with other EC-10. Be careful." He said, while putting the book in his pocket.

They eventually reached the cellar. Unlike the previously searched rooms, this one seemed completely empty.

"Are they invisible or what?" one of the Sweepers asked.

"There is a more rational explanation" Cleric Ross answered. "Over there," he pointed with a flashlight. "A trap door".

One of the Sweepers approached cautiously the trap door, examined it and opened. He didn't know that by doing this he pulled out a safety pin. A grenade that was installed beneath, exploded, killing the Sweeper instantly. Fortunately for the rest of the team, they were far enough to avoid any damage.

"They were expecting us" Ross said "Proceed with caution, one by one."

The Sweepers obeyed and descended one by one, with their flashlights on, keeping a safe distance. They scanned the passage very carefully, looking for every possible trap.

"Nothing there. Let's move on."

A brief moment of inattention sufficed. The leading Sweeper stepped on one of the planks, that were lying around. It broke under his weight and caused him to fall into a pit. The fall proved fatal, because he fell on several sharp stakes, fixed there.

"They thought about everything, didn't they?" one of the remaining Sweepers stated rather than asked.

"What a mess." The other Sweeper said, when he saw some more planks leaning against a wall and a pile of junk, which made the corridor much harder to pass. "How did they get through this?"

"I'm not touching it"

"Wait! There's some kind of door" Indeed, right beside the pile, there was a wooden door.

"Don't touch them! Hell knows what's behind them!"

"Am I supposed to go through this junk? Now there they could hide some nasty things."

"But don't you think that going through the door would be too easy?"

"Do you think that the whole group of Sense Offenders would go through this pile of junk?"

"I don't know. You go first!"

The Sweeper, who didn't want to go through the junk, pressed the handle, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Electric shock was another surprise prepared by the Resistance members for the intruders. The Sweeper didn't have any chance of surviving.

The last remaining Sweeper aimed his machine gun and started shooting at the pile.

"Stop it!" Cleric Ross ordered. "The last thing we need is that the whole Resistance knows are exact location, Sweeper!"

"How am I supposed to know, what's in there?" the Sweeper answered.

Fear. Cleric Ross sensed it instantly. In some cases the fear was so strong, that it overrid the effect of Prozium. This never happened to the Clerics – their training effectively prevented that. But the Sweepers – especially the young and with relatively little experience, such as this one – they could fall a victim to it.

"Take another dose, Sweeper," Ross said.

The Sweeper obeyed, but didn't manage to inject the dose. A single gunshot ended his life. It was Cleric Stein, who drew the gun and shot the Sweeper.

Both Ross and Crow stared at him in a brief moment of disbelief.

"What do you think you're doing, Cleric?" the Investigator eventually managed to ask. "Killing one of our men, while our resources are wearing thin? Is that what they taught you in the Monastery?"

"Such sudden manifestations of emotion as this act of panic cannot be tolerated." Cleric Stein answered."

"True, but radical solutions aren't always the best. An extra dose would work just fine in this case." Cleric Rose said. He preferred to keep other remarks, that he was tempted to voice, to himself. "Let's move."

Ross lead the way. Concluding that the pile poses no threat, he pushed the planks so they fell on the floor. Next, he squeezed himself through and so did the others.

"Their inventiveness is impressive," Crow said. "I don't think it was the last of the traps they set here."

"Neither do I." Ross agreed.

Both were right. The Clerics noticed on the way three suspiciously looking threads and an oddly placed metal plate. They managed to get through without triggering the traps and eventually they reached another trap door. Cleric Ross carefully examined it.

He didn't notice anything suspicious in the door itself, but his clerical instinct told him that he should expect something right upstairs. He drew one of his guns and with the other hand he lifted gently the trap door. The place was rather dark, so the Cleric waited, until his eyes adopt to the darkness.

After a while Ross could distinguish the shapes and outlines. From what he could tell, it was a small room, seemingly abandoned. Still, the silence was suspicious. Ross, now alerted, got out and while upstairs, drew his second gun. Relying now on his acute hearing rather than his sight, he searched for any sign of threat. Cleric Stein and Investigator Crow waited downstairs.

Ross assessed, that the room was empty. The only thing he noticed was a door. He came closer in order to see them better. Still remembering, how one of the Sweepers died, he fired a few shots into the lock and kicked the door.

Behind there was another corridor, which made Ross even more alert. He had to admit, that this Resistance group was exceptionally smart. He could forget about the Gun Kata in a narrow corridor.

In the meantime, Gabriel Stein and James Crow came upstairs, drawing their guns as well, and, after their eyes adopted to the darkness, they followed Ross, keeping the safe distance.

Andrew Ross proceeded carefully, expecting some more booby traps. This corridor was narrower that the underground passage, so he would have a hard time avoiding possible traps.

The Resistance fighters made use of this advantage mercilessly. Ross heard a barely audible sound and instinctively jumped back, falling on the ground. It turned out that his hearing and years of training saved his life. A second later an explosion shook the place, knocking out Cleric Ross.

"Damn, a proximity grenade! Stay back, Investigator!" Cleric Stein ordered.

Crow obeyed. He had a nagging feeling that someone _wanted _them to take this route. Feeling like a complete fool he also was aware of the fact that there's no turning back now. All he could do now is to remember that now Gun Kata action it its glory and effectiveness didn't suffice and share this knowledge – if he'll manage to get out of this alive, of course.

Cleric Stein didn't like the fact, that there was no other way than the corridor. He wouldn't be surprised if another proximity grenade was placed.

There was. Unfortunately, Stein's hearing was less acute, therefore he didn't hear the sound. The explosion threw him back and knocked him out as well. But the worst thing were the shrapnels that wounded him.

Crow froze. Now he was alone. He held his gun wondering how to get through. He wasn't a Cleric. The only thing he shared with them was the instinct. And this very instinct told him what to do. Crow held his gun tighter and ran through the corridor like mad. One grenade exploded right behind him. Fortunately, Crow was fast enough and managed to reach another door.

This time he risked pushing the handle. Nothing happened. James opened the door and bursted in with his gun ready to fire. This room, unlike the previous one, was dimly lit, so James could see that he was expected here.

"Put your gun down, Investigator." One of the three Resistance fighters who were standing there and aiming their pistols at James, said.

It was the very first moment in his life when Crow wished that he was a Cleric.


	7. Chapter VII

**Chapter VII**

Thrown in a corner of the room and tied up, James could only examine the surroundings. He noticed that the room has two more doors. One of them opened thus revealing some more sense offenders.

"Check the corridor," one of them ordered "If someone is still alive, bring him here."

"A bullet in a head would be a better solution, methinks." Another one retorted.

"Not this time. Now move!"

Two Resistance fighters obeyed and exited through the door James came in. The two Clerics were fortunate. The thing that puzzled James was why wasn't he shot on the spot.

"Would it depend only on me, you would be already dead, Grammaton scum!" One of the guards spitted in Crow's direction and was about to kick him.

"Whoa! Easy, Jack! Not this time," Jackson, the man in charge, cooled down the guard's eagerness.

"What a shitty day," Jack snorted, "Grammaton finds our hideout and I can't even pay them back".

But it was other thing that stirred up Crow's attention. Another group of sense came from the adjacent room. One of them looked familiar.

The man looked at Crow's direction and, after a moment of hesitation, came closer.

"You looked for me, you found me." The man said. "I am Martin Stein."

„Your notes made it a lot easier." Crow replied.

The chemist didn't answer. He was wondering, from where to begin, since he had a lot of things to explain. But before he started to speak, the corridor doors opened and a unconscious Cleric was dragged inside and tied up. Crow recognized him.

The scientist recognized him as well. His facial expression changed rapidly.

"Gabriel!"

The wounded Cleric opened his eyes and looked at his father, still balancing on the verge of consciousness. He couldn't move and he hadn't his firearms anymore. The man he was supposed to capture came closer and leaned over him, trying to raise his head.

"I failed," Gabriel realized with full clarity, when Cleric Ross was dragged inside as well.

"Why?" the young Stein asked with all the strength he could gather. The last thing he expected was to ask such a question – to ask any question.

"Damn you, Crow!", he thought.

Martin looked at his son, ignoring other two captives. The Cleric required medical attention, that was beyond doubt. The fact he couldn't count for one in these conditions, was also obvious. The conclusion… The old man shook his head.

"While you have faith… son, I was brutally deprived of it."

Gabriel would tell his father about the monstrosity of his treason, of the blow his betrayal dealt to Libria – he would use the words he was taught all of his life. But the Cleric somehow knew – he couldn't explain how – that these words won't suffice. It was the first time he was genuinely puzzled.

"What happened?" This was the only thing he was able to say.

"Maybe I should wait till their dose will wear off, so they will fully understand – but Gabriel can't wait that long." The chemist thought. "That leaves me no other choice." He decided to speak.

"It started from a series of experiments fifteen years ago," the scientist started, "The task of our research group was to improve Prozium II in several ways. Primarily it was all about prolonging its effect, adjusting the dose and improving the injectors. The experiments were a success – to an extent."

"What do you mean?" It was Crow, who asked.

"We improved Prozium II as much as it was possible, yet the Vice-Council wasn't satisfied. He temporarily suspended the program. Still, the idea returned right after Preston's rebellion. The Vice-Council wanted us to develop a new generation of Prozium, which would work permanently."

"What did he mean?"

"At that stage we didn't know. Not until something happened."

"What was that? Crow's curiosity wasn't satisfied.

"A simultaneous research on a new synthetic substance was conducted. It's a poison, which kills within ten minutes. The curious thing we discovered is, that the lethal effect of the substance is inhibited by Prozium. Besides, the poison remains in the system for a much longer time than Prozium. We started to experiment. We mixed both substances. Perhaps this was the point when I started to see the implications, but I carried on. First, we experimented on mice which, after the Prozium worn off, died. Their life could be prolonged only by injecting the next doses of Prozium – right until they worn off."

Martin Stein looked Gabriel and the other two captives into their eyes, to see if they understand. He saw attention, but he sensed that they're still missing the point. A look of Gabriel convinced him that he needs to hurry.

"The report hit the Vice-Council's desk," the scientist continued, "and we got the order to continue with the experiment. More," he said bitterly, "we were provided with a human subject".

"And?"

"We calculated the dose and injected it. It worked like a standard dose of Prozium. When the time came, we gave him another shot – the last one. Then we waited till the dose wears off."

"What happened?"

Stein shook his head, unable to speak for a while.

"It was horrid." He said eventually. "The man died in pain. The poison causes a gradual paralisys, gradually shutting down all vital functions. The man couldn't take his breath. He knew he was dying."

"Of course, the Vice-Council got the report on desk," Martin continued angrily, "The answer we got was: "The experiment goes in the right direction. If you manage to keep the poison permanently in the system, that will be perfect.". I made my decision then."

"Martin," Gabriel's voice alerted him, "Radical problems require… radical means. Were people loyal, such experiment wouldn't have to be conducted."

Martin Stein stirred. He didn't expect such an answer.

"Loyal to what? To the dose? I know you, Clerics see the dose as an ultimate value, as the foundation of Libria. But, as one of the creators, I see something more. The idea was to save humanity from the destructive emotions of World War III. Libria in its current shape was pretty much a way of survival – at least I believed it should be. I have experienced the pre-war times, son. And I realized, when I saw the results of the experiment, that we have chosen the wrong enemy. It is not human emotion we should fear – it is lack of moral constrains."

"But you've seen the cruelty of war…"

"Yes. And I know human emotions were used by those, who had interest in waging this war. They calculated – exactly as we do. And I have also seen the war that we are waging."

"There is no war.."

"Really?" The amount of anger, sarcasm, sorrow and bitterness in Martin's voice surprised even those Resistance members, who could hear the conversation. "Then what do you think you're doing? Why is the Tetragrammaton constantly expanding? Why is it, that the V Department is ordered to research weaponry, toxic substances and Prozium instead of things that would help in raising this world from ruins?"

"As long as the enemy exist, we must be prepared."

Martin shut his eyes, in order to stop the tears which wanted to be released. Another slogan was like a smack for him.

"Think, Gabriel," he whispered, "with all the resources that are being used to wipe out the Resistance, it is still present. Despite the propaganda, which you call teachings, despite the presence of the Tetragrammaton – there are still people willing to risk their life, willing to choose the life off the dose. If the Librian way of life is the right one – then why do people still rebel against it?"

Gabriel didn't say anything.

"I'll tell you more." Martin continued. "The dose doesn't ensure loyalty and Father is well aware of that. That's why you hear the teachings all day long."

"What do you want to say, Martin?"

"That while I made my decision, I was on the dose."

It was now Gabriel who felt like being smacked. His eyes widened and he stared at Martin in disbelief. He couldn't understand his reaction.

"Why? I've taken my last dose maybe forty minutes ago." The Cleric thought.

Martin, guessing the question, said:

"You are loosing blood, son, thus there is much less Prozium in your system. Gabriel, you are starting to feel."

The Cleric was struck by this statement. He couldn't accept what he heard.

"Gabriel," the old man said, "If you weren't wounded, if you were standing right before me, armed – would you point your gun at me and shoot me?"

Gabriel Stein closed his eyes and, to his surprise, he found out, that the answer wasn't that easy. Finally he said:

"I can't accept what you have done… but I wouldn't shoot."

These were his last words. Martin couldn't hold back his tears anymore. In fact, he didn't want to.

It took a while, before Martin Stein was able to speak again.

"What happened after you made the decision?" Crow asked again.

"I decided I must use my knowledge for other purpose… for humanity." The scientist replied. "I started to set up my private lab. You can't imagine how much nerves and paperwork it did cost me. I was under constant observation, so I had to watch out not to make any false step. But eventually I did it. My plan was to start a research on the antidote, which would remove the poison from the system. I must admit that the research was much harder than I expected, especially that I continued simultaneously my primary research. I had few moments of doubt, I must admit. But the help came from the most unexpected way."

"Namely…"

"Incidentally, once I had to stay in the Tetragrammaton laboratory until late, my path crossed with the one of Frank Revan. I met him when he did the maintenance work on the laboratory computers. I noticed he was looking through some classified information. He didn't notice me at first. I approached him and asked him a few questions. He knew I caught him red-handed, so he didn't even try to lie. Once I became sure he works for the Resistance, I asked him for help. He agreed to cooperate."

"In what way, besides sabotaging the network?"

"He gained access to some critical files regarding the toxin, which made me able to complete the research. As soon as I created the antidote, I asked him to help in my escape, which he did. In case he was caught, I smuggled some cyanide for him."

James decided that he won't tell Martin that the cyanide proved useful. Not yet.

"There are still things I don't know." Crow said.

"Ask." Martin replied. "I want you to know everything. I want you to understand."

"The ultimate solution," the investigator started, "I mean the folder with chemical formulas. Was it your antidote research?"

Stein looked at Crow with horror.

"Yes, these were my first experiments. If Dorn has them…"

"He does." James interrupted.

The scientist cursed.

"It's not the matter of the fact, that the formula will be lost," he explained later, "I have the necessary knowledge here," he pointed at his head " and on a CD, which is here. But he will see the direction of my research and use my results to his advantage. I can't exclude the fact that, based on my results, he'll be able to ultimately refine the drug."

"And the single German document you stored on a CD?"

"Ah, this one. It was written in case the Vice-Council prevails – a letter to the next generations. I'm pretty sure no-one will able to speak German, but I had to use this language. To make up for it, I intend to attach this," he showed another CD, "A German-English dictionary. And a back up of my research – so they would be able to recreate the antidote."

"You thought about everything, didn't you?" The Cleric asked.

"Except for the damn folder, yes. But I'm afraid that all humanity will pay for my mistake."

Crow was about to ask another question, but he found an answer, when he looked at Martin's legs.

"Sweeper boots." He thought. "I was right."

Crow stirred. He finally learned about Stein's motives and the dose blocked any emotional response. But as he reached to his beliefs on Libria and on loyalty, he found out that the experiment is in conflict with one of his fundamental beliefs: _that the loyalty is a matter of choice. _Sense offense meant escape to the Nethers and risk of being captured and executed – as a cost of feeling emotions. What was puzzling, that despite the risk, many decided to become sense offenders. And those, who will have the Prozium III injected, will be deprived of this choice. Crow didn't regard the choice between life and certain death as a choice at all.

"Interesting," he thought as another, completely unexpected, question aroused: "How is it to feel?"

He didn't dare to ask it aloud – not in a presence of a Cleric. Crow looked at Ross – but Andrew's facial expression remained enigmatic.

It wasn't long until Crow's watch started to beep.

"Yes," he thought, "I will finally know how it is like."

Prozium started to loosen its grip on Crow. Emotions, previously held in check, started to surface, like creatures running out of air and racing to catch a breath. James blinked and shook his head. A strange sensation of dizziness, which he felt, didn't let go. Despite the fact that he sat, he felt like he was going to collapse. The barriers between reality and imagination have fallen and visions started to appear.

"Do you understand the importance of loyalty, Investigator? It is critical that you understand." DuPont's smug face was as distinct as if it was real. The gun he pointed at Crow looked like real as well.

Suddenly DuPont's face transformed into the face known in the entire Libria – the face speaking from the screens.

"There is no enemy nearly as vicious and dangerous as human emotions," Father said, "It was the hardest one to fight, for emotions were an incurable disease, inherent to every human being. Fight it, Crow!"

The vision changed again, showing another familiar face.

"You upset me, James. I heard your progress is unsatisfactory. I heard you can't handle two guns at once. What's a use of a man, who isn't suitable to be a Cleric? Tell me, how will Libria benefit from you?"

"I will tell you, Mr. Crow," a face of a Tetragrammaton trainer appeared, "it is true that he doesn't have the required movement co-ordination and can't handle two guns at once even to save his life. But his mind… he would excel in any kind of administrative and investigative work."

"You mean: to topple papers? What a great and useful service…"

"Tetragrammaton is something more than just the Clerics, Mr. Crow. We can further train his instincts and put to proper use the talents this boy has – not those _you _want him to have."

Then the visions changed faster. Along with those from Crow's past, such as the moment he was sworn, with those completely unreal – the city in flames and the wastelands burnt by the sun.

Eventually Crow woke up, still not sure whether it's still a vision or not. His doubt quickly dissapeared, as he suddenly felt enormous physical pain; every single muscle hurt.

"Damn," he groaned.

"Not good" The scientist thought. "Jack, can you give me the dose of Prozium you've taken from the captives?" he asked.

"You're kidding, right? Of course we destroyed it. Hey, it ain't Equilibrium Centre."

"Idiot!" Stein lost his composure. "This man needs a reduced dose of Prozium. He is going through an extremely rare withdrawal process, which only five people out of one thousand experience."

"I guess he's out of luck" Jack smiled nastily.

Luckily one of the Resistance fighters still had an PIU unit with a single Prozium vial. Martin took it and injected half of the dose into James' neck.

Indeed, the reduced dose of Prozium eased the pain.

"I think my motives will be easier for you to understand now. Had it been Prozium III in your veins, you would be dead by now."

Stein looked in Crow's eyes and finally saw what he was hoping to see – realization.

Still, he was concerned.

"Will he be willing to feel, after he experienced the withdrawal?"

The chemist came back to the other room, hoping that Crow will be strong enough. He also thought with anxiety about Cleric Ross, whose apparently emotionless expression bothered him. Still, he had to put these thoughts aside for the moment, since he had to take care of another matter.

"Jason," he said to one of the younger offenders, "I am giving you the vials and the CDs. Bury the CDs in a place you see fit and deliver the vials to the nearest safe hideout. The antidote must not be found, do you understand?"

Jason nodded and hurried through the other door.

Stein could only hope. But his hope was put to the test, as he heard a sound of a bell.

"Shit!" Jackson yelled "They found us!"


	8. Chapter VIII

**Chapter VIII**

Indeed, the crude alarm system installed in the compound proved accurate. The search team called for reinforcements, as soon as it became clear, that something happened to the Clerics. One of the Sweepers noticed a sense offender dashing out from a nearby compound.

"A sense offender!" The Sweeper stated. "I think we found their hideout!"

"Great work, Janson" The Sweeper Commander replied. "Since we have to do without the Clerics, let's do the following: Smith, you and your men will surround the compound. Decker, take your men and wait in the house where the Clerics had gone – just in case. As soon as this place is surrounded, we're going in."

"Yes sir."

They went in hard. The sense offenders attempted to form some resistance, but it was obvious they don't stand a chance.

"Let's get the fucking outta here! To the passage!" Jackson yelled.

His companions didn't have to hear him twice. Most of them managed to escape through the passage, before the Sweepers bursted in. Martin Stein was out of luck though.

"There they are!" One of the Sweepers noticed the hostages. He also noticed Martin Stein and was about to shoot him, but Cleric Ross said:

"Don't shoot. The Vice-Council wants him alive!"

The Sweeper hesitated. He kept his gun aimed at Martin, but but after all he didn't shoot.

Another Sweeper drew his combat knife and freed the hostages.

"Sir ...," he asked, "how did they capture you?"

"They set a couple of proximity grenades" Ross answered. "One of them killed Cleric Stein."

"Clever" the Sweeper stated. "And they escaped!"

"Decker's men will deal with them. Now get the hostages to the van. Davis and Norris will search the rooms and, as soon as they finish, we're getting out of here!" The Sweeper Commander ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Martin Stein was handcuffed and escorted outside, where a police van arleady waited. James and Andrew followed him as well.

Crow still felt pain, caused by the withdrawal. It was bearable, dampened, but still present. And it wasn't only physical.

Emotions caused this pain as well.

"Sir." One of the Sweepers noticed, what was going on. "Your dose worn off."

"I couldn't take my interval, since I was tied up. Besides, my PIU was destroyed."

The Sweeper reached for his PIU and asked:

"Do you wish to dose now, sir?"

Crow knew there was only one correct answer to this question.

Martin Stein knew his fate. Thrown into the police van, he could only hope that his message will be heard. Although he knew he will be found, it happened sooner than he expected.

Martin Stein did what he had to do. He could only hope he did the right thing. If he miscalculated, everything would be lost.

* * *

"Aside from the fact that you were taken hostage, you did remarkably well, Investigator" the Vice-Council said, as James Crow and Andrew Ross were on the debriefing. 

"Thank you, sir."

"It's inconceivable that such a high ranking person turns out to be a traitor" DuPont said. "What did he tell you?"

The question alerted Crow. He knew he couldn't reveal how much he actually knows.

"He said he lost his belief in Libria." Crow answered eventually.

"Interesting. Did he say something more? About a research perhaps."

"Yes, he mentioned an experiment. A major research on Prozium. Something about refining the drug, so it works permanently" Crow improvised.

DuPont looked at James warily.

"Cleric?"

But Cleric Ross confirmed Crow's version. He sensed his intentions and understood as well that he can't reveal his knowledge of classified information.

The Vice-Council observed both men for a moment.

"Good. You may both leave."

Still, he wasn't reassured. A clerical instinct told him that something is wrong. As far as he hasn't noticed anything unusual in Ross' behaviour, Crow's attitude bothered him. DuPont remembered his reaction to the fact that Gabriel Stein was assigned to this mission and was even tempted to arrest Crow.

He decided to observe him first. He also decided to keep an eye on Ross – just in case. Assigning him a new partner sounded like a good idea.

There was another matter the Vice-Council planned to take care of. Expecting Dorn to come within few minutes, he smiled smugly, as a new plan began to form in his mind. All that he needed was a few pieces of information.

The scientist came as expected.

"As you may – or may not know, Martin Stein has been captured." The Vice-Council started. "His act of treason will be punished, but before the processing occurs it would be a good idea to gather some additional information on his research."

"I have nothing to hide." Dorn answered.

"I do not doubt it," DuPont replied, "But it's not the experiment I'm talking about."

"I'm listening."

"As the expedition pulled out, I checked all records on Martin Stein. A most interesting thing is, that four years ago he was granted a permission to set up his private laboratory. In the light of his recent actions it would be quite logical to assume that he was planning to conduct a research. His research."

"The notes!" Michael recalled.

"Tell me what you know."

"Based on his notes," the scientist started, "I assume he was working on an antidote."

"Which he managed to complete" The Vice-Council interrupted. "Otherwise he wouldn't have escaped, would he?"

"Yes" Dorn agreed.

"Two things" DuPont said. "First: find out what you can on the antidote. Second: I'm going to give you the authorization to talk to Stein. Get as much information as you can. Just in case, I'll also assign an interrogator to help you in... technical issues."

"Yes sir."

"Good" the Vice-Council said. "You may leave now."

As the scientist left, DuPont smiled.

* * *

Martin Stein raised his head as the door of his cell opened, revealing Dorn and one of the Clerics, dressed in a navy blue uniform. Only the fact that Martin was tied to his seat prevented him from what he was tempted to do, namely punching his former colleague. 

"It's sad that we had to meet in such unpleasant circumstances," Dorn started. "But I must know something more about your private little research."

Martin's hostile look ensured Dorn that he is going in the right direction.

"Yes, I can see that you know where I am heading" Michael continued. "The antidote. Where is it?"

"Hidden" Martin spat.

"Where?"

"Out of your reach, Dorn!"

"Wrong answer" Dorn smacked the captive. "I'll ask you again: where is it?"

"Suffice to say: it exists."

"I know it does." Michael sighed. "The question is: where is it hidden? As an old friend I would recommend you to speak. Or," at this moment Dorn smiled discreetly, "I will be forced to leave you in more skilled hands." He said, glancing at the Cleric.

"Apparently I should had been more cautious while choosing friends," Martin sneered.

The next blow was much stronger – strong enough to cause bleeding from Stein's nose.

"Watch your tone!"

"Why should I ?" Martin said icily "I will be dead anyway."

"Yes," Dorn replied. "But there's a difference between quick and slow death. My companion can explain it better then I. And now excuse me, I must go out for a moment."

"Go to hell and don't come back" the prisoner thought furiously as Michael left.

"You have never interrogated a prisoner before, have you?" The Cleric thought, having no slighthest intention to heed Dorn's suggestion. Not that he avoided such methods – but he knew that they didn't always prove effective. He decided to start from the beginning:

"Tell me about the antidote. What is it?"

The scientist glanced at the interrogator with interest. Sensing his chance, while Dorn was still absent, he decided to answer the question.

"It is supposed to nullify the effect of Prozium. By Prozium I mean the new and deadly generation of this drug, which will be introduced very soon."

"Deadly?" The Cleric thought with interest. He was about to ask for more details, but, warned by the instinct, refrained from doing it.

"Where is it?" He asked instead.

"I won't tell you." The prisoner snorted.

"An answer of a man, who has nothing to lose" the interrogator stated. "But is it really the case?" He observed the prisoner cautiously.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not the only Stein, are you?"

"Bastard!" Martin's eyes widened.

"Yes…" the interrogator said, noticing Stein's reaction. "I knew Gabriel Stein. It was quite a surprise he got killed, given the fact that he was one of the better Clerics. But at least he remained loyal and died for a legitimate cause."

The scientist clenched his teeth.

"Still, we're not so sure about Steins' sense of loyalty anymore," the Cleric continued. "You could help us in restoring our faith in you and your family if you revealed the antidote's location."

This blow was accurate. Martin remained silent, wrestling with his thoughts.

"Loyalty" the scientist barked eventually. "I had a significant part in creating the system you serve now. I served it as well with my best abilities, until I was forced to revise my loyalties. There is a new generation of Prozium to be introduced, which will kill anyone who will miss the dose – accidentally or not. It's not what Libria was about!"

"If this is the case, we should look forward to it, shouldn't we?" The Cleric asked. "Besides, I'm waiting for your answer. Two more sense offenders won't make any difference for the city furnaces."

"They're innocent!" Stein shouted those words out.

"Yes" The interrogator replied flatly. "But who, besides you, really cares?"

They both knew the answer.

"I don't know the exact location of the antidote," Martin sighed. "I had it hidden."

"Clever" the Cleric thought.

"Whom had you given it?" he asked.

"One of the Resistance members, of course."

"How much of the antidote did you manage to produce?"

"Two vials."

At this moment, a clerical instinct spoke again. The prisoner didn't lie, the Cleric was pretty sure about that. But there was something more that begged for an answer.

"I'm not a scientist," the interrogator continued, "but I'm pretty sure that if there's an antidote of any kind, there must also be a formula."

"Dorn has it" Stein retorted.

"Really?" The Cleric squinted. "Well, to be honest, it's highly unlikely."

"Is that so?" the scientist sneered, trying very hard not to show any trace of anxiety.

"Yes. Now I'm going to show you something." The interrogator said and left the cell for a moment.

A creeping feeling has awaken in Stein. He had to admit, that this Cleric really knew where to hit – and this was much more painful than Dorn's brute force. Preparing for whatever might come next, he knew he must be careful.

Still, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. The Cleric brought something that looked like a briefcase.

"I guess this laptop is yours" the interrogator said with a hint of satisfaction, sitting opposite the prisoner. "The search team found it in the sense offenders' hideout."

Martin lost his cool and uttered a few German swearwords.

"Yes" The Cleric muttered as he switched the laptop on. "Why would you take it with you to the Nethers? That would be pointless, unless there would be something important, wouldn't it?."

The chemist didn't say anything.

"You don't make things easy, Stein" the Cleric said, turning the laptop in Martin's direction. "I should have expected that this system is password protected. Now, what's the password?"

The scientist frowned.

"Your resistance is useless" the Cleric said, noticing Martin's reaction. "I'm pretty sure your schematics are stored here. Whether we will be able to access this system or not, you won't have any use of it anymore."

"But it still makes a difference." Stein drawled. "Choosing between destroying the data or handing it over to Dorn I would choose the former."

"Why?" The Cleric didn't understand.

"Because that would hinder Dorn's research" he said, not without satisfaction.

At the same moment Michael Dorn entered the cell.

"How is it going, Cleric?" he asked.

"We're getting somewhere" he replied. "Now, I think this thing would be useful for you." He said, pointing at the laptop. "It is Stein's laptop."

"Indeed, Cleric, indeed" Michael answered, approaching the table.

"But you are going to need a password." The man said.

Dorn looked at the screen.

"Do you have to complicate everything, Martin?" he finally asked.

The prisoner observed his former colleague with contempt and didn't bother to answer.

"The password" Dorn threw in.

"Forget it, Dorn."

"Remember what I said, Stein." The Cleric reminded.

Martin fixed his eyes on the floor, concentrating his efforts on keeping his cool. Two conflicting thoughts began their struggle once again, this time with increased intensity. The moment he feared most – the moment of the final decision came and he felt almost physical pain as he realized what he must do.

"No" his voice was hollow. "I cannot tell you that."

* * *

Jason was looking around nervously. He buried the CDs given by the scientists in a safe location, but there were still the vials of antidote to be delivered. Barely escaping from the compound, he hid in the ruins, continuing his run only when he was absolutely sure that he's the way is clear. The next hideout wasn't that far and, as far as he knew, it was still temporarily safe.  
He glanced back and, after a brief rest, continued his run. The surroundings seemed completely deserted and eventually Jason noticed the hideout, located in one of the ruined houses. 

The young sense offender bursted into the house, but suddenly a single gunshot wounded him in his leg.

"Freeze," he heard a voice "You're coming with us."

Jason turned his head and noticed two Sweepers aiming at him.


	9. Chapter IX

**Chapter IX**

Already in his unit, James Crow looked at the mirror, seeing a pale, emaciated face and a weary look – a result of his life style. This day was more exhausting than the others and even a cold shower didn't get him back on his feet.

After he finished the shower and put on his casual clothes, he took his PIU unit, which he got as a replacement. James opened it, looked at the amber vials, took one of them and examined it. It was like a promise of a calm night, a night without pain. He remembered the withdrawal all too well and didn't want to experience it again. Although he knew that this kind of response of his system is abnormal, this knowledge wasn't any comfort to him.

James put the vial back into in place and put the PIU against his neck, wrestling with his thoughts. He needed some sleep but, on the other hand, he knew that the night time is the only possible time to skip a dose, since there was no-one to watch him.

He decided to take the risk and skip the dose.

It didn't take long, before the pain struck again. James hissed, but he decided to withstand, hoping that it'll eventually go away. The real and surreal visions – the visualizations of James' subconscious - came as well.

The minutes of pain seemed like hours to him. Biting his pillow and trying to be quiet, in order not to be heard, he was tempted to dose.

Crow didn't know how long it lasted, but eventually his pain started to wane and, after some time, it went away.

Still, he didn't get up from his bed, as if not entirely certain, whether it's all over. Only when he was absolutely sure the symptoms won't return, he lifted himself shakily. He made few unsteady steps towards the window, still shaking, but finally able to walk and finally free from the grasp of Prozium – _completely_ free.

Suddenly, a feelings he couldn't name, flooded his mind.

"What's happening?"

Crow needed air. He opened the window wide, allowing a cool breath of air.

It was dark, but the night was almost completely cloudless. James looked at the sky, observing it with fascination. The stars shone brightly in constellations, creating an illusion of unusual nearness. Outlines of the cityscape, dark but still visible, seemed to be taken from a dream – the high, massive buildings of steel and concrete were now replaced by vague shapes.

Crow's vision started to blur. Puzzled, he wiped his eyes and realized, that his fingers are wet.

"Weird."

He tasted the strange liquid only to state, that it tastes salty.

A sudden surge of fear struck James unawares. It was a fear of someone lost on an unknown territory, left in the dark, where logic failed. That was too much for him. He sat by the wall, overwhelmed by what he felt and buried his face in his hands. Furthermore, a creeping, paranoid feeling that someone saw him in the dark, kept nagging him.

Fortunately for him, the initial storm passed a few moments later. James looked around tentatively and as he found out that the worst is over, he felt enormous relief. He got up from the floor and decided to look out of the window once again.

A breath of cool wind felt strange at first and it made Crow dizzy. He breathed it in greedily, like an animal looking for a trail and looked again at the clear sky.

He wasn't able to describe what he felt when he saw the sky full of stars, but he felt it belongs to those kinds of feelings, which he would _want _to experience.

"Dizzying heights… and abysmal lows".

Having gone through the latter first, now he started to experience the former. The complete silence and darkness, after bringing him fear, now brought him peace. He realized that for the next few hours no-one will be observing him and no-one will be there to report him to the authorities.

The only thing that really bothered him was the lack of definitions and lack of understanding of what he's going through. It was a beginning of something new and incompatible with his whole life and experiences. James felt he needed guidance which couldn't be provided by the system he served. Mere thought of a next withdrawal filled him with dread and he wasn't sure whether he'll be able to skip the dose ever again, but the experience itself – no matter if positive or negative – was too unusual to be waved aside. James felt the urge to understand.

Still, despite the experiences of this night the tiredness grown, slowly but constantly. He knew he'll have to get up to work, have a new case assigned and, what was most important, find someone who could guide him. Eventually, he fell asleep, not knowing that it still isn't the end.

The subject of dreams didn't belong to those covered during the Librian education, nonetheless Crow was about to experience one.

Libria, the city-state of steel and concrete stood among the wastelands, the same as in reality. It took a while before James noticed a single, but fundamental difference: it was completely abandoned. Not a single Sweeper patrolled the streets, not a single citizen wandered taking care of his matters. Only Father's face could be seen on the screens as usual.

"James Crow, are you going to leave me as well?" Father spoke unexpectedly.

James stirred, surprised.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"They're gone," Father answered, "Misguided by those who defied my teachings, they left this city to their doom."

James looked around the main square where he stood.

"Do you see? There's no-one".

"But," Crow asked, "Where could they go, when there, outside, there is nothing but the ruins?"

"They didn't leave in the way you think. They are lost for the society, closed in their own worlds, so preoccupied with their emotions that they're unable to contribute. I feared this might happen."

"Fool!" a very familiar voice with a distinct foreign accent interrupted. "It is you who caused that."

"Explain."

"He has chosen an invincible enemy" the man, who turned out to be Martin Stein started. "He wages war with the human nature, imposing such a strict control that people withdrew to the only oasis of freedom they had left – their internal worlds."

"That's the result of feeling." Father interrupted.

"No" Martin disagreed. "Since the beginning of mankind people were feeling. I have lived in the times when we were free to feel. What is happening now is abnormal."

"Free to feel" Crow repeated. "But what about control?"

"It's the part of the process. People somehow had to cope with them without the drug, hadn't they?"

"But how?"

No one answered. The outlines of the buildings started to blur only to fade away few moments later.

James suddenly sprang out of his bed, painfully bashing with his leg against a desk.

"Shit! What was that?"

He found himself again in his room and the pain ensured him that he's back in reality. Still, although he tried, he couldn't figure out what happened a moment earlier.

"Where was I?"

The visions seemed so extremely vivid that they could be regarded as real. The voices seemed real as well. The city was exactly as he remembered, except it was completely deserted.

Crow's heart beat like mad and his thoughts were in complete chaos. As if it wasn't enough for him, he noticed that the sky started turning intensely red.

"Now what!"

Alarmed, he opened the window and ended contemplating the view unable even to catch his breath. Crow, exhausted with endless questions, stood there completely overwhelmed by the sunrise, observing the varying tints of red. The buildings, usually gray, turned orange, which gave the cityscape almost impressionistic quality. Forgetting about his questions, for a moment James forgot about his own existence.

The sensation he felt was impossible to process, but its intensity was beyond words, causing a feeling strangely resembling physical pain.

This night James' self was shattered into pieces and reassembled into a new quality, for the time being completely beyond his comprehension. His mind stopped working as it did before, preparing a place for his newfound, still forming sense of emotions. And he somehow knew it was merely a beginning.

* * *

Sarah Ross watched her husband out of the corner of her eye. He came back later than usual and she could swear that something in his behavior was slightly different. She learned to notice such signs, even if she afforded herself to skip the dose only during the night time. 

"You're later than usual" she stated flatly.

"Today was a busy day" he replied.

"Come on!" she thought. "I know that something happened, I can see it!"

Andrew didn't say anything else. He preferred to keep the events of this day for himself, still processing what he had heard during his captivity. Against his years of training, something forced him to think about it. It surely wasn't logic. He couldn't pinpoint what caused that he saved Martin's life by misleading the Sweeper. Luckily his mystification worked, since the grunts usually don't ask questions.

Martin Stein… it was the most difficult case, in which Ross participated, not only because Martin was one of the highest ranking officials ever who changed sides, but there was also something in the man himself that bothered him, something in his behavior. Cleric Ross had a nagging impression that this encounter was planned. The fact that he and Crow weren't killed on the spot, that the sense offenders, including their leader, were strangely obedient to the scientist – they weren't to be simply dismissed. Ross noticed that this man was extremely methodical in his sense offence. It wasn't a wallowing in the newfound emotions, but an arduous journey, of a more deliberate nature.

The Cleric took off his coat and headed to the bathroom, intending to go to sleep. After taking the shower he took his PIU that he got as a replacement in order to dose, but he didn't manage to. The injector was stuck.

"Great!"

Ross first thought whether not to use his wife's PIU, but after a moment he hesitated. The damage has been done. Stein's explanation caused an escalation of a deeper, more subtle process which started way earlier. Slowly, imperceptibly but steadily his loyalty eroded. Some kind of internal brakes held him in check within certain borders and now he felt he's dangerously close of crossing them. Could Stein feel that way as well?

"_Dose doesn't ensure loyalty and Father is well aware of that"_ Andrew recalled this statement. There had to be something deeper than emotions, something unaffected by the dose which guided humans. And this very thing told him to skip the dose.

Meanwhile, Sarah skipped her evening dose once again. EPPTs and a presence of a Cleric caused that she didn't want to risk skipping her dose in the daytime.

The nights without the dose brought her an aching feeling of loneliness, despite – or maybe because of – the presence of her husband by her side. But it also brought her dreams – intense and vivid, never experienced under the dose. They caused that every morning she dosed with a hidden, but present reluctance.

As she laid down next to Andrew she felt a strange need to take a risk as she did sometimes. Her husband laid facing her and trying to sleep. She laid on her back pretending that she's sleeping and waited till his breath will become even. Then she faced him and stroked his hair, as gently as she could, fearing that he might wake up and notice. Sarah instinctively took back her hand; to her relief, his breath was still even. Still, this was painfully insufficient for her. She brought her hand closer once again.

"_Don't do it, it's crazy!" _her self-preservation instinct warned her.

"_It's my husband!" _her feelings responded.

"_He's a Cleric! Touch him and you'll be dead!"_

"_As if I was alive right now! What kind of life is it? I can sleep with my husband in one bed, but I can't even touch him!"_

"_Take your dose."_

Sarah ignored the warnings and stroked his cheek, not caring anymore for the punishment. A dismal feeling that she would rather end her life in the city furnaces than take her dose or limit herself to her secret night time thoughts and feelings grew stronger every moment.

"_Now you're dead."_

"_Better dead than incomplete."_

She felt the texture of his skin and its warmth, trying to capture and to record it. Her heartbeat accelerated, stimulated by her attraction towards Andrew and fear of what might happened any moment.

Suddenly she felt a powerful grip on her wrist, which caused her to hiss with pain.

"_He noticed! This was imminent!"_

The grip loosened a bit, but Andrew still held her hand. He was now wide awake.

"How long?" he just asked.

"Two months" Sarah answered.

"Impossible. I would have noticed."

"No. During the daytime I was on the dose. Could you let go of my hand now?"

"No" he answered, but there was something highly unusual in his tone.

"What were you trying to do?" he asked.

Sarah felt embarrassed.

"I don't think anyone who's on the dose would understand." She said quickly to gloss over this feeling.

"I think I could," the Cleric answered once again with this different quality in his tone.

Suddenly she felt a weird sensation. She could have sworn that she felt Andrew's hands massaging her wrist.

"What…?" her eyes widened.

"Well, it's a reflex gained by the years of training" he said with his most instructive tone. "And it happens that I forgot for a moment that you're not an armed rebel."

"I'm an unarmed one" she replied.

"True. You have no firearms. But there are weapons which will render helpless even a Cleric" he replied with distinct amusement, putting his left hand on her hip.

Sarah trembled, hardly believing in what's happening.

"How long?" She managed to ask after a while.

"One hour" the Cleric answered seriously. "My PIU unit got stuck."

"Better late than never" she answered, putting her hand back on his cheek. Andrew once again registered this strange, yet pleasant sensation which woke him up.

"Have you tried that before?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean – within the last two months…"

"Yes…" she said with sadness.

"You knew the risk?"

"Yes."

"Why were you still skipping the doses when you knew the consequences?"

"Let me ask you something" his wife replied, bringing closer to him. "Would you dose now?"

The Cleric closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the intensity of his feelings. What was happening now seemed completely unreal, although his senses assured him that this isn't the case.

"No" he answered.

"Then you know the answer to your question." She nestled into him.

Andrew felt like his every nerve was played like a musical instrument. Not entirely sure what he was doing, he responded to her caresses – uncertainly, clumsily but sincerely.

"I don't understand" he whispered.

"It will come. Formerly people had all of their lives to understand, to learn."

"Then this is my first lesson?" Andrew asked.

"Yes" Sarah stated. "But there are more to come, many of them very painful. Be prepared."

Andrew Ross was to become a very diligent student, but at this time neither he nor anyone else knew about it.


	10. Chapter X

**Chapter X**

Michael Dorn sat in the lab analyzing his research results. Without his dose of Prozium he would be furious, whereas under the dose he only felt something like mild irritation. But still, he felt – and he considered this fact as a problem.

Prozium III was ready, according to Vice-Council's wishes. It was only the matter of ingredients and their proportions. Once taken, it would accompany every single Librian for his lifetime. The time of introducing the drug was almost due, but another problem suddenly appeared: the antidote.

"Martin, do you have to complicate everything?" Dorn thought.

He attempted in vain to recreate the antidote by himself, hoping to understand it.

If he had access to Stein's laptop it would spare him a lot of trouble. Martin's notes already made his research easier, leading it in the right direction. But there was still something missing, something vital.

"Some help, some hint would be highly appreciated" the scientist thought.

"Mr. Dorn, there are two vials of an unidentified substance to be analyzed," a voice of a lab assistant distracted him.

"Two vials," Dorn thought and suddenly he recalled the information he got from the interrogator after Stein was questioned.

"Where did you get them?" Michael asked.

"One of the patrols caught a sense offender carrying those" the man answered.

"Show them" the scientist ordered.

The lab assistant left the vials on Dorn's desk and left.

Michael felt a distant echo of excitement. He immediately got down to work. If his assumptions were correct, he wouldn't have to worry about gaining access to Stein's laptop anymore.

Obviously there was still an important thing that needed to be done. He had to inform the Vice-Council as soon as possible.

"What Martin Stein revealed to you, Cleric," the Vice-Council asked a man in a navy blue uniform standing in front of him.

"He managed to produce two vials of the antidote," the Cleric started, "and had them hidden in an unknown location, but that isn't a problem anymore."

"Specify" DuPont ordered.

"One of the patrols caught a sense offender carrying two vials of an unidentified substance" the man reported. "I'm almost absolutely sure that this is the antidote."

"Almost?"

"Well, in order to be absolutely sure, we handed the vials over to Mr. Dorn for further analysis."

"Perfect. If that's it then it's everything we need."

"Is this all?" the young Cleric asked.

"No," DuPont with difficulty refrained from smiling, "There's one more thing. I'll call here your new partner."

"New partner? Now that's interesting" the man thought.

"May I ask who is it?" he asked aloud.

"Yes," the Vice-Council answered, "It's Andrew Ross, Grammaton Cleric First Class. He's very experienced, one of the best, but I need you to observe him and report any suspicious behavior to me."

"Yes, sir" the Cleric answered.

Just a moment later Andrew Ross came in.

"Cleric Ross, I would like to introduce you your new partner," DuPont started, "Kurt Donovan, Grammaton Cleric Second Class."

Andrew acknowledged his presence with a nod.

"Cleric Donovan is a talented, ambitious man" the Vice-Council said to Ross. "I hope you will guide him, so he can learn further from your experience."

"I'll do my best" Ross answered.

"Good. You both may leave."

While heading back to the Cleric's Department Andrew wondered, whether the Vice-Council considered him as an idiot. Ross knew DuPont's true intentions and he didn't like the fact of being observed by Cleric Donovan. It reminded him of a similar case five years ago. A zealous Cleric as a partner was the last thing he needed right now.

The Vice-Council was in a triumphant mood. Everything went well so far and only some kind of disaster could stop him now. Without the antidote there were no other threats, no other obstacles. According to the reports, the sense offenders movement was very limited and it was only matter of time, before they would be defeated. The only thing that needed to be done was to observe and remove uncertain elements.

"It's just a matter of time" he thought. "A very short time."

The Stein family was brought into the Hall of Destruction. Crow, Ross and Donovan observed them closely. As an honor, which James and Andrew considered to be dubious, they were allowed – obliged, in fact – to participate in the combustion. With his clerical training and newly found knowledge, Andrew analyzed their behavior. Martin was both furious and broken down, while his wife and daughter were just slightly confused at most. It was clear to Andrew that the female family members were on the dose and it's most likely that they never went off the dose in their entire lives.

James' conclusion was similar. There was clearly something wrong. He kept asking himself why Martin's family members were here. Of course it wasn't a first case of that kind he witnessed. But it still felt wrong, making James' efforts of pinpointing the culprits pointless.

"Why convicting the innocents?" he asked himself. "What's the point?"

Crow felt like leaving the place, but he knew he can't. Despite the Prozium the awareness of the fact that it was his investigation that finally lead to the execution, made him feel uneasy. Even the internal excuse, that it was his job sounded pathetic in these circumstances.

Contrary to his stony expression, Andrew struggled as well. He concluded it would be much better if he hadn't stopped the Sweeper from shooting Martin. Unfortunately, some mistakes couldn't be repaired.

The convicted scientist looked with hatred at Donovan. He already knew that the antidote had been found – the Cleric remembered to inform him about this fact before the execution.

"I had the right – even a duty – to risk my life for this cause. But did I have the right to risk the lives of my wife and daughter?" he thought bitterly.

The flame burnt him quickly - along with feelings of self-hatred and defeat.


	11. Chapter XI

**Chapter XI**

James Crow was digging through the Central Database, but he wasn't working on a new case. Moreover, such term as _new case_ didn't exist for him right now. Now that Martin Stein was dead he felt – he knew – that now it's just a matter of time before the new drug will be introduced – and he intended to find out when will that happen.  
Of course it wasn't an easy task. Everything that could regard Prozium III was classified. Or – was it really everything? Of course the direct approach would fail. But it happened more than once that James acquired what he wanted by more indirect queries.

Suddenly, he got an idea. He knew that the Tetragrammaton network was connected with the Equilibrium Centre. It was a convenient solution, used frequently by appropriate persons – mainly from the Research Department - and sometimes by the Investigators. Crow didn't need to make use of it before – not until now. He figured that – classified or not – introducing a new drug had to leave some traces in the records – like mention of a new substance, not used before as an ingredient. After all, the personnel had to know what to produce and how.

James started searching the documents, starting from the oldest ones and wrote down the substances usually used for producing Prozium. The search results were discouraging – it seemed that there was no trace of a new drug.  
After a moment of thought he suddenly experienced a flash of insight. Wondering, why hadn't he thought about it earlier, Crow checked the latest storage records and the results surpassed all of his expectations.  
Of course there were plenty of things mentioned – but only one was stored in similar quantities as the rest of the substances used to manufacture Prozium. As Crow started to dig deeper, he found out that the delivery came just few hours earlier. He also found an entry, which really answered his question: the estimated storage time was seven days.  
He disconnected from the network and attempted to form a plan. Martin was dead and there was no-one who could sabotage the production process. There was still the antidote, but, as he soberly concluded, he couldn't place his hopes in two vials of the antidote.

"Two vials against one hundred thousand Librians on the dose... that's nonsense" he calculated.

If he knew that the vials were found he would consider thoughts about them even a greater nonsense.

James sighed. He wasn't used to being helpless. Everything was planned for years, held in greatest secrecy. Now the project was practically completed and nothing could interfere with its implementation now.

His watch beeped reminding him of taking his dose. He injected it, knowing that it was still Prozium II.  
But others didn't know what was about to come in seven days.

"Of course! How could I miss it?" the thought struck him completely unawares. The plan that formed in his mind was both desperate and strikingly simple: maybe Crow couldn't stop the process, but he still could thwart Vice-Council's plans by making a top secret project an open secret.

James logged again to the Central Database, this time in order to dig out all of the e-mail addresses. He knew it'll take ages to do and he hoped that no-one will disturb him. Methodically, department by department, he eventually got the e-mail addresses. The few phones in between, fortunately for him, turned out to be not so important. He had plenty of time to work in silence and solitude.

He started to write about everything he learned about Prozium III, without missing any relevant details. After copying and pasting the e-mail addresses he got and hitting the "Send" button he knew he sealed his fate. The punishment would be swift and inevitable.

But James Crow didn't care. If his plan worked, then the whole thing would be worth it, despite the consequences. If not – then he knew he'll have to leave as well, since in the new world order there would be no place for him.

* * *

Andrew Ross checked his e-mail and got a single message – it was neither an order nor the internal newsletter, which already was highly unusual. As he opened it, he couldn't believe his own eyes. Luckily, he dosed not long ago.

"Clerical training surely didn't cover this!" he thought as he was reading it.

He read the message once more, carefully observed by Kurt Donovan. It read:

_To all!_

_There is a top-secret and deadly project aimed at every single Librian. There is a new generation of Prozium to be introduced. It contains a poisonous substance which causes imminent death. Its effect is inhibited by Prozium, so the only way to prevent it is to take another dose. The Vice-Council knows about that – well, he ordered to begin this project. It was so secret that only the Vice-Council and two researchers – Michael Dorn and Martin Stein – knew about it. The latter was executed for revealing this secret and developing the antidote. The research lasted years and it was completed eventually._

Even those of you who are truly loyal to Libria should beware. The new Prozium will be introduced in seven days. You would dose it, not even knowing about it. Father – or should I say the Vice-Council - doesn't trust you.

_Every single Librian will fall a victim – maybe except of the Vice-Council who, aware of the project, wouldn't want to inject a poison in his veins. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out, that he was off the dose all the time._

_I'm giving you the choice which you wouldn't get otherwise. I was forced to revise my loyalties and I know I will be punished. I've chosen already. _

"It's madness!" he thought as he finished. He didn't suspect Crow of having suicidal tendencies, but now he had to revise his opinion.

"Why?" he kept asking himself.

Andrew closed the e-mail client and peeked at Kurt. The young Cleric read the message carefully, but Ross was unable to determine what he thought at the moment.

"Seven days…" he thought – and with this thought he finally understood James' intentions.

The Librians deserved to know. If this knowledge would cause some of them to skip the dose, then maybe not everything was lost.

"Maybe the truth is the only thing that we've got" Andrew thought.

* * *

"I think you should see this, sir" Donovan's voice was loud and clear.

The Vice-Council looked at the printed message and read it carefully. He felt exposed and humiliated, all the more that he didn't expect that move.

"Thank you, Cleric. You may leave" he said eventually, barely managing to control himself.

As soon as Donovan left, he took a blank sheet of paper and started to tear it into pieces. He asked himself, how could he make such fundamental mistake. He should had listened to his intuition which told him to arrest this Investigator. He should had, but he hadn't – and the consequence of this negligence lied in front of him.  
He read the message once more, amazed by its relevance. As if out of spite Crow even managed somehow to determine the day, when Prozium III was supposed to be distributed.

DuPont wasn't so angry in his entire life. Now he was in trouble. Of course he could deny everything and hope that everyone will believe, but the damage has been done. There was a real danger that people would start asking questions – especially James' colleagues from the II Department. Damn Investigators… Maybe this specialization wasn't that good idea at all? They were always asking too many questions.

Finally he knew what to do. He took his phone and dialed the number to the Equilibrium Centre. His order was short:

"The production is to be finished in five days, not seven."

"That's impossible. We received the substance just few hours ago. We won't manage to finish the production within five days."

"I won't accept any delays, understood?"

After a moment of silence the interlocutor finally answered:

"Yes, sir."

DuPont could only wait.


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

"_Prozium is your source of life. Without it you'll die – because emotions – hatred, rage - cause death. It's our road to freedom. Our great society deserves to be free – free from threats, free from the rebels that violate our peace. I will lead you to this freedom – to the ultimate perfection."_

Andrew Ross knew that this wasn't only a metaphor. Prozium III was implemented. He could recognize its effect – The new drug was significantly stronger than its predecessor, which showed in people's indifferent expressions and apathetic looks.

He desperately hoped that there are still Librians who heeded Crow's warning and skipped the dose while there was still time. Of course he knew that most of them didn't have the chance to learn the truth. But those who got the message and their families – at least some of them – knew.

Andrew's wife standing by him, was one of them. She was afraid of skipping the dose completely, but faced with the facts she took this risky path. Andrew taught her to hide emotions and observed her. He was a demanding teacher and she, understanding the situation, did her best to satisfy him. So far, no-one saw through her, but there was still much to do. The thing that most worried him were the blood-testing patrols. Andrew was lucky he hasn't encountered any so far, but so far no-one invented a method of fooling an EPPT. That meant that they would get every remaining sense offending Librian, eventually.

For a brief moment the Cleric thought about James Crow. Last time he saw him was when he was lead by the Security straight to the Hall of Destruction. He was on the dose, that was clear from the first sight. Still, there was something odd in his behavior.

"You _wanted_ to die, didn't you, Crow?" Ross asked inwardly.

He understood this choice, in a way. After all, being a sense offender in this new society required a rare, special kind of courage.

Andrew hoped he'll have enough of it.

**THE END**


End file.
